Some folks think that if your kids are vaccinated, it’s no biggie if others skip their shots. Well, I’m here to tell you that’s not the case.
Meet my son, Alex. In this photo, he’s wearing his very first Halloween outfit. A nurse in the pediatric cardiac ICU gave it to him. You see, he was born with a serious heart defect and wouldn’t have made it long enough to don this adorable costume without the stellar work of the neonatologists and critical care team at Riverside Health who spotted his condition and whisked him into intensive care before his mom could even hold him.
Shortly after his birth, he was rushed to Riverside Health, where he was stabilized and prepped for open-heart surgery. For six months, we were in quarantine—no family visits unless they isolated themselves too. I became a cleanliness fanatic, scrubbing down with antiseptic soap multiple times a day and maintaining hospital-level hygiene to keep germs at bay. Each night, I’d strip in a makeshift cleanroom, shower, and put on fresh clothes before seeing my wife and son. I even disinfected the bathroom after my shower—just in case.
During this time, Alex was medically delicate, and the thought of bringing home a preventable illness made my stomach churn.
A little while later, things were looking up. Alex had another open-heart surgery at 11 months old, and our lives settled into a routine—until he turned 7. He developed a minor infection that, for most kids, would have been a breeze to fight off. But for my son, it turned into a nightmare:
After weeks of fevers and chills, we found out he had bacterial endocarditis. What started as a minor infection—likely from a stubborn loose tooth—nearly took his life. He was in the hospital for a week before we could finally bring him home, thanks to his mom’s medical know-how and our ability to maintain quarantine. He even received a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation during this tough time.
As if that wasn’t enough, Alex’s heart condition needs ongoing care. A few years later, his pulmonary valve needed replacing. We went in for an MRI to prepare for what was supposed to be a simple procedure, but when the results came back, it was bad news: Alex required full-blown open-heart surgery. Can you imagine the weight of that news?
Once again, we went back into quarantine. Had I been exposed to something contagious and brought it home, the outcome could’ve been catastrophic. He was already weak, and he simply wouldn’t have had the strength to fight off a serious illness.
Fortunately, we kept him healthy, and this is him after his latest surgery—look at that grin! That’s his sister, thrilled to have her big brother back. I wish I could remember the joke that sparked his laughter, but I do recall the impressive scar he now sports.
So, why am I sharing all this? Because some kids, like Alex, can’t afford to take chances. Even with his vaccinations, there’s always the possibility they could fail, or that he might encounter a preventable disease he can’t fight off. This isn’t just a statistic; this is the reality for my son, who relies on the collective immunity of those around him.
So please, vaccinate.
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Summary
This post emphasizes the importance of vaccinations and how they protect medically fragile children like Alex, who relies on herd immunity to stay safe. Through personal experiences, it highlights the potential dangers of preventable diseases and advocates for the collective responsibility of vaccination.