this is sponsored post about vaccinations on behalf of the Washington State Department of Health. All opinions are my own.
I don’t think anybody ever thinks they’re going to get really sick. But about a year and a half ago, I got a diagnosis that ultimately changed my life forever and last year vaccinations became a vital part of my survival and my freedom. I’m really thankful that we’ve always kept up with our kids’ childhood vaccinations because having them up to date also made it easier when I got treatment because I needed to be shielded from illness as much as possible and this can be a pretty difficult thing with school-aged kids. As parents we’re so often thinking about our kids’ health but it’s also our health that is intertwined with theirs as well.
I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease that required a treatment that would obliterate my own immune system for a period that would last approximately 6-9 months. This time period was from about February until the beginning of December of last year. In order for me to get the treatment for this autoimmune disease I needed to make sure my vaccinations were up to date. And between February and December I had to make sure that I was kept away from any kind of sickness because my body wouldn’t be able to fight it and that is one extra reason why it was important that my family had their childhood vaccinations up to date too.
It is not a fun thing to have no immune system. I had to monitor things like getting cuts when I gardened that might not heal or getting something like a cold that we usually take for granted. I had orders from my doctor to call if I ever got a fever or a cough because if I didn’t take action immediately I could face severe consequences. I had to mask everywhere in a time period when everyone was just getting over having to mask everywhere for the pandemic. This was so hard because it was my sons’ last year in middle school and we had parties and leaving ceremonies and new orientations to attend. But even with these things and travel (done with a lot of masking/hand sanitizing/distancing) and kids in school I didn’t get sick at all. Our family has always believed in the importance and value of vaccinations and our role in getting ours to help with community immunity, so it was really humbling to be on the receiving end of this community shield.
The most powerful thing I learned from going through this ordeal is that it’s pretty incredible that we actually have this tool to ward off sicknesses and strengthen our bodies’ immunity. Vaccinations have also been around for a very long time. According to the Washington State Department of Health website vaccinations have saved more lives than any other human invention and childhood vaccines are estimated to prevent over 4 million deaths a year. There are a lot of facts on the Washington Department of Health website and it tells you all the vaccinations kids need until they are 18 (these are also free for families in Washington State) Our family doctor has always kept on top of these vaccinations for our guys but we also check to make sure they are up to date and ask questions at our appointments if we think we are missing something. For some travel destinations we’ve been to over the years we’ve learned we sometimes need more vaccinations too. (And even our pup needs proof of vaccinations like for rabies when we bring him to Canada and back on trips to see family.)
If you have questions about childhood vaccinations you can even ask them on the Washington Department of Health website (scroll to the bottom of the page to find this) and I think we’re pretty lucky to have this resource in Washington State.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
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