is it really worth a pound of cure? Well, I guess that depends on what you are talking about these days. I spend a lot of time advocating for people's health. I know things sometimes I wish I didn't. Pertussis is on the rise. Those of us who were immunized years ago have lost our immunity and while it isn't a big deal for adults - it can still kill children. A father here told the story of his daughter's birth. Prior to welcoming his bundle of joy into his life the dad developed a nagging cough that just wouldn't go away. The doctor kept telling him it was really nothing to worry about. The cough went on for weeks and even spread to his mother and father - the babies grandparents. Shortly after the birth of his precious little girl, she contracted the cough and unfortunately, she wasn't so lucky. It was pertussis...or as most of us know it whooping cough. He had whooping cough and gave it to his newborn daughter. I bet the day he attended her funeral, he wished someone had told him that he needed a booster vaccination aka the TDAP to prevent him from catching this nasty little disease that is on the rise again. I know some women who are pregnant and in the last few days, I encouraged them both to make sure that people who will have intimate contact with their babies has been vaccinated and are up to date. I was scolded by some busy body who overheard my conversation and said "I swear, we didn't have all these new things and we all turned out just fine." I would love to introduce her to the dad who lost his daughter and has to look at his wife every day. What if it were her child?
It isn't just about the new vaccinations...there are a million and one things that have changed since we were kids. When we were kids, well some of us anyway, we didn't really know the full effects of smoking or second hand smoke but we do now. So, do we not tell people and give them the knowledge to protect themselves and those they love? Do we sit silently by and watch their lives go up in smoke?
Yes, we all stood in the seat next to our parents and seat belts were not mandatory like they are now. But, billions of our tax dollars have been spent to show that seatbelts really do save lives. Just ask someone you know who has been in an accident. We worry about crumple zones and side impact airbags but nag about wearing a strap across us that holds us in place?!?
We didn't know you shouldn't have lead based paint in our homes. We spend billions of dollars a year in the slums in our country trying to do lead remediation. Would this woman and all those who say we all grew up just fine let those kids get lead poisoning knowing what we know now? I would like to think as a society we grow with new knowledge but, when I hear comments like these I'm amazed at just how uninformed the general population is. If she had a child and knew all these things would she not take every precaution she could to prevent injury? If she says no we can chalk her up to one of those people who shouldn't reproduce.
I know that doing these things is often a nuisance and a real pain but, I would rather spend a few minutes ahead than a lifetime regretting what I didn't do.
A reflective Pandora wishing the world peace and harmony.
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