First of all, there has been a new development. It has nothing to do with the babies though. I am now officially allowed to shower EVERY DAY!! WOO HOO!! This makes such a difference in how I feel. Thank goodness. It really is the small things.
Also, every Monday at 1:00 I go to a High-Risk Support Group. I was hesitant at first, as I don't feel super depressed or upset. I seem to be taking things fairly well, and I am blessed to have support from family and friends. But I decided to go so I could get out of my room and interact with people for an hour each week. Wow. I do not fit in. Apparently this group is not for people who don't have husbands who leave them because they're pregnant, or fiancees who are no longer fiancees because they refuse to visit the mother of their child in the hospital. I am not giving either of my children up for adoption, and my boyfriend did not try to get me pregnant by hiding my birth control. I do miss my dog, however, but when I say that out loud it just doesn't seem as significant. Anyway, this group has definitely shed new light on my life. Certainly, it is not news to me that I have a good life with a loving and supportive husband, and a stable relationship. But clearly it could be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much worse. My heart goes out to these girls. It's bad enough to be stuck in the hospital for who-knows-how-long and have the kind of support that I do. Trying to deal with all of these emotional issue right along with it must be close to unbearable. Thankfully, though, my appreciation for Eli and our life together (and especially the Gospel) has increased by attending these meetings. So I will be there next week.
Alright...soap box time.
As I have had a lot of time to read while I'm here, I held a mini magazine-a-thon the other day. I read through almost all of my magazines that deal with parenting and children. However, I did not get to finish my "Parenting" mag. So I was just looking through the remainder of it and thought I would read the article about vaccinations. Now, I am not trying to offend anyone who might not agree with me on this, but I feel so strongly about some of what I read that I have to say it...bluntly. And I do so as a child care provider as well as a parent.
I certainly understand why some parents are hesitant to vaccinate their children. Rumors that they can cause autism or are risky for other reasons are scary to parents. And if you choose not to vaccinate your child, that is your choice. (Not one I necessarily agree with, but it's your choice nonetheless.) HOWEVER! Choosing not to vaccinate your child and then deliberately exposing them to uncomfortable and dangerous diseases like chicken pox is NOT okay. In fact, it is abusive.
Apparently some parents choose to expose their children to a disease in order to build up the child's immunity without having to get the shots. They even have "parties" for other parents who are interested so all of the children can share the illness. Mouthing the same items, hugs and kisses are all encouraged between the infected and the well. I was so outraged when I read this that I can hardly contain myself. It is illegal to physically and emotionally abuse our children. It is illegal for mothers with munchausens by proxy to poison their children just enough to get them sick. Why then is this okay? The distinction between them is so infintesimal in regards to outcome for the child. And for the parents who have tried this and say that when their child got chicken pox they didn't even itch that badly, I say...then your kid got lucky! I've had chicken pox. I was little! BUT I REMEMBER THE UNBEARABLE ITCHING! There is no way this is the best choice (and I don't think it should be a choice) for protecting your child's health.
Stepping down now.
5 comments:
Totally agree with your soap box. You said it!!! Hang in there, we are all praying for you!
this is news to me! and yes, it is outrageous. unbefrickinlievable!
I had no idea something like this was going on. Who thought that up? It reminds of a story during the pioneer stretch out west. A family with several small children developed measels. The mothers conferred and decided to let all of the children live together, get the measels, and the mother on the "outside" would cook and do the laundry while the mother on the "inside" would tend to the care of the ill children. Turned out that the "measels" were actually German measels and the outcome was very bad. We know for a fact that down the road, the virus for Chicken Pox is a form of herpes simplex and causes "shingles" later in life, which is extraordinarily painful. Why allow this to occur? I have a grandson with autism and I understand the risk AND the fear. I understand it's a personal choice, but why voluntarily subject a child to a disease? I am just dumbfounded by what I've read here...aghast!
BTW, you must be a ray of light in your support group honey. Also, are you still knitting?
i knit very little, though I had started on a baby blanket. and i need to do two! But my carpal tunnel makes it hard for me to do more than a few rows at a time. :( So i've sort of fell out of it.
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