Well folks... after a WAY too long and unanticipated hiatus. I am, in fact, back. I was doing my duty helping out another community pediatrician who had a medical crisis. She now fine and settled back to the office. But this left me back in dreaded, Primary care. To make matter worse, she also has a large population of non-vaxxers and people on "alternate schedules." So that means they have some vaccines, not others and are largely unprotected from the usual vaccine preventable diseases. As you can imagine I'm an opinionated and passionate proponent of science. So this situation made me feel like I was in purgatory - probably for cursing too much. But I made the best of it by irking parents with my insistence on vaccinating their children. Here's a typical interaction.
Dr. Austin: Its December; not too late for the flu vaccine - hang on I'll send the nurse back with one Parent: ?? But we don't believe in that!! Dr. Austin: Oh, its for real! We've got some in the fridge - lemme show you Parent: That's not what I meant...... Dr. Austin: Oh, I know what you meant and its sounds just as foolish
Man, being a pediatrician is tough. I went to school for a wicked long time, studied, sacrificed my 20s to the "gods" of medicine for a chance to help people.....and who are they taking medical advice from??? Jenny McCarthy! - if all I had to do was show my cooch in order to to care for patients, I never would have needed those student loans. Hey , I'm even game. I'll show you my cooch too - I'll go get ladyscaped and vajazzled--- if you just vaccinate your kid!
I've always been a passionate advocate for vaccinations. When I was a child; instead of an au pair - I had Grandma caring for me while my parents worked. She was born in 1905 and came of age in a time when medical science was rapidly changing. She would tell me about the delirium she experienced with diphtheria - she would tell me how frustrated her mother had been as she kept begging for "bananas" while sick - what she meant was "water". She told me how so many people she knew died during 1918 Spanish flu - A strain so deadly its still being studied by infectious disease doctors and historians- that coffins filled with the deceased were piled on the side of the rode. That flu killed so many young healthy people; it probably was a main catalyst for ending WWI. I bet you learned that it had something to do with trench warfare or mustard gas. Wrong! It was the Flu!
She saw children ravaged by Polio, nursed my father through Chickenpox, Measles, Mumps and Rubella and Whooping Cough. There were the babies that died of pertussis, meningitis, pneumonia - all largely preventable now. And why do I know all this? She told me. She was fond of the saying "If you don't learn from the past, you are doomed to repeat it." So I heard lots of stories about her childhood and how things had changed (cars, electric lights, airplanes, radio, TV, moon landings) but she was always most impressed by what medicine could now do. After a dose of whole cell pertussis vaccine at age 5 I developed severe arm pain, swelling and fever ( not an uncommon event with the old vaccine- especially at the 4th booster). I was in a sling for almost a week. I moaned, "Why did that mean doctor give me a shot?" She was quick to point out, that it was probably because he cared if I lived or died.
The anti-vaccine industry flourished in large part because vaccines have been so successful. Not many people remember what it was like in the times before vaccines. The horror of summer for parents because it came with the threat of polio. Infant deaths - were commonplace - unlike today. SIDS deaths are all tragic, but relatively speaking, a rare occurrance. Back in the day it was not - because they were often due to vaccine preventable diseases not suffocation, cardiac arrthymias and metabolic disorders. They were due to pneumococcal pneumonia, HIB meningitis, Whooping Cough. Mumps caused, hearing loss, encephalitis and sterility. Measles lead to pneumonia and fatal subsclerosising panencephalitis. Rubella, acquired prenatally, used to be the main cause of mental retardation. And they're all coming back! I find we are indeed repeating history. I've now seen a case of congenital rubella, was exposed to measles while pregnant with my daughter, and I contracted pertussis while in medical school (despite vaccination). Every Pediatric resident can tell you about the previously healthy child who died in their PICU from influenza as well as those chronically ill children, who we came to love, who we lost to the flu as well.
So while I was on the front lines of vaccinations- losing the war - a miraculous event occurred! Sidney Crosby, celebrity star of the hockey world, member of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and local sport hero, got the Mumps. Suddenly, the parents who the week before refused the vaccine, now lined up at the office door to get it. The irony of this is not lost on me, but if I can protect just a few more kids against the diseases that I know are still lurking just outside of our collective memories - I've done my job. So thanks Sidney Crosby - by highlighting the need for herd immunity you convinced some reluctant vaccinators to do their part to protect themselves and the community and I didn't even need to vajazzle! ;)
I am really happy that you are back. First of all, I am glad that you made it through. That journey of yours was probably a tough one, but I am glad that you did it. If you ask me, not a lot of people can do that, so I am really impressed with you. I really wish that I can join you in your next trip though. I plan on being the second person to do the thing that you did.
Dr. Melanie Austin is an actual medical doctor not just a graduate of WebMD. She is the mother of 2 girls, 1 dog, 3 cats and at times, it seems, her husband. The blog is not meant as medical advice but as the musing of a medical professional on pertinent social topics.