Omar-bei had his 6 week vaccinations a few days ago. Poor thing had to swallow the rotavirus vaccine (but not before spitting it out a few times, clever boy!) then as aptly as the ped announced "Sakit time!" he got injected on both thighs and screamed bloody murder until the ped picked him up and distracted him with a wind up cuckoo clock on the wall. (Incidentally, the ped's office was brimming with toys and now I know why-- it's to divert attention post-sakit time)
We were warned that a fever might happen that evening or the next day, but I was actually more concerned about getting the terrible ol skool band aid on his thighs*.
(For all that money we pour into the place, I cannot believe they could not stock up on kid friendly band aids with colorful animals. Heck, I have a box of those at home!)
But even before the band aid and the possible fever, we ended up in one of the worst rainstorms I have ever been through on the highway that I can remember. We could barely see beyond the car in front of us, and that car was represented only by a vague blinking red light. Each time we drove through a flooded area, we would be blind for a second, and I could feel myself gasp for air as if I was physically drowning.
I don't know how tightly I clutched the baby. I have always been very nervous in the car. And I have been even more nervous since traveling in the car with the baby. And more so, that we are traveling without a carseat (I know, I know). Luckily the shots made him super drowsy so he slept through it all.
I kept thinking then about the possible irony of something bad happening on our way back from getting the immunizations-- nauzubillah. I know some people are strongly against vaccinations because they think it is a conspiracy or they think it is unnatural or they are worried about potential adverse effects. The first two reasons, I feel are the most difficult to defend. The third one, I can certainly empathize with.
As a parent, you do not want to expose your child to any risks of danger. Days leading up to the immunization, I fretted about seeing Omar in pain, about the common adverse effects like injection site irritation and fever, then the more rare adverse effects. I remembered the horrific article about the newborns in India that died after being injected with a bad batch of the vaccines similar to the ones that Omar was injected with (not the exact one). I have taken class after class about vaccine refusals and we had pooh poohed the crazy parents who refused vaccines and later have their child be at the center of an outbreak. Vaccines certainly are driven by utilitarianism, but there is also individual gain only you don't realize it because 'not getting sick' is not as appreciable as 'getting better'. I began to wonder if I was one of those 'crazy parents'. In fact, Ikram raised the question of whether vaccines are even necessary. I had to bring forth the dusty bullet points of 'vaccines are necessary, the risks are minimal ', and while I was ticking them off for him, there was still a small voice in my head going "but what if that 1/10000 is my kid"
But life is a big course in risk management. And in the car, under the threat of a road mishap, I was ready to sign up Omar for a vaccine to prevent injuries if there were any.
Suffice it to say we made it back home in one peace alhamdulillah, though shaken and stirred.
*Note: I got the band-aid off as soon as we got home using a q-tip soaked with baby oil. Ikram said to just rip it off (!&!@!???) but I was not ready to put Omar through another sakit time if I could help it. Luckily the oil worked like a charm. It took a while and quite a bit of finger work to tease off the band aid with the q tip but it was worth it to have the nasty things off, all the while Omar undisturbed from his sleep.
 |
| The wind up cuckoo clock that eased sakit time induced crying. |
We were warned that a fever might happen that evening or the next day, but I was actually more concerned about getting the terrible ol skool band aid on his thighs*.
(For all that money we pour into the place, I cannot believe they could not stock up on kid friendly band aids with colorful animals. Heck, I have a box of those at home!)
But even before the band aid and the possible fever, we ended up in one of the worst rainstorms I have ever been through on the highway that I can remember. We could barely see beyond the car in front of us, and that car was represented only by a vague blinking red light. Each time we drove through a flooded area, we would be blind for a second, and I could feel myself gasp for air as if I was physically drowning.
I don't know how tightly I clutched the baby. I have always been very nervous in the car. And I have been even more nervous since traveling in the car with the baby. And more so, that we are traveling without a carseat (I know, I know). Luckily the shots made him super drowsy so he slept through it all.
I kept thinking then about the possible irony of something bad happening on our way back from getting the immunizations-- nauzubillah. I know some people are strongly against vaccinations because they think it is a conspiracy or they think it is unnatural or they are worried about potential adverse effects. The first two reasons, I feel are the most difficult to defend. The third one, I can certainly empathize with.
As a parent, you do not want to expose your child to any risks of danger. Days leading up to the immunization, I fretted about seeing Omar in pain, about the common adverse effects like injection site irritation and fever, then the more rare adverse effects. I remembered the horrific article about the newborns in India that died after being injected with a bad batch of the vaccines similar to the ones that Omar was injected with (not the exact one). I have taken class after class about vaccine refusals and we had pooh poohed the crazy parents who refused vaccines and later have their child be at the center of an outbreak. Vaccines certainly are driven by utilitarianism, but there is also individual gain only you don't realize it because 'not getting sick' is not as appreciable as 'getting better'. I began to wonder if I was one of those 'crazy parents'. In fact, Ikram raised the question of whether vaccines are even necessary. I had to bring forth the dusty bullet points of 'vaccines are necessary, the risks are minimal ', and while I was ticking them off for him, there was still a small voice in my head going "but what if that 1/10000 is my kid"
But life is a big course in risk management. And in the car, under the threat of a road mishap, I was ready to sign up Omar for a vaccine to prevent injuries if there were any.
Suffice it to say we made it back home in one peace alhamdulillah, though shaken and stirred.
*Note: I got the band-aid off as soon as we got home using a q-tip soaked with baby oil. Ikram said to just rip it off (!&!@!???) but I was not ready to put Omar through another sakit time if I could help it. Luckily the oil worked like a charm. It took a while and quite a bit of finger work to tease off the band aid with the q tip but it was worth it to have the nasty things off, all the while Omar undisturbed from his sleep.
1 comment:
Alhamdullillah alla salamaa.
I didn't know the baby oil trick. You sound like a Mom. <3
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