No Pain, No Gain

Well, with all of this H1N1 going around and the back and forth about available vaccines with the who and the when, we have been hearing a lot of good and bad about our government and these vaccine's in general. We've gotten different stories depending on who we talk to...our family doctor, my OB, Tyler's work associates, media, government, and just hear-say from family and friends. A few months back, we were offered by the Children's Hospital to enroll our kids in an H1N1 vaccine study. We thought and prayed about it, and figured that it was a good idea and decided to proceed. There was some nervousness of unknown, but our kids health is always most important and so we decided that this would be a good opportunity for them to get the vaccine before most people and ensure our family was protected. The study ended up being canceled for logistical reasons and we never ended up with the vaccine. Then we got it (H1N1 I mean). And it hit us hard. Lucy seemed immune and we wonder if she had it earlier in the year and we just didn't know. Once we were in a state where we could function again, we asked our doctor about getting the vaccine still, and if it was necessary. Our family doctor told us to still get it, but that we could wait a few weeks until things settled down. My OB told us to get it ASAP to ensure that we didn't run into a shortage. They started to make the vaccine available only for high risk people, including children under 5 and pregnant women. On Saturday morning, after hemming and hawing and going back and forth, we decided to head to the clinic set up in our neighborhood to get our 'pokes'. Tyler's brother had called to say the line up was very quick, and so we rushed and got down there before we headed out to Banff for the day. The longest wait was after our flu shot when we had to sit for 15 minutes to make sure everyone was ok. We filled out our paper work, reassured a very upset Lucy and laughed at Max who kept telling us, "I'm very brave...I love getting needles!" He hopped up on Dad's lap and pulled his sleeve up ready for his vaccination. His reaction was a little different once the needle was done, a few tears were shed, but he was great. Lucy was nearly hysterical leading up to the needle that she didn't even feel the nurse give her the needle and was surprised at how much it didn't hurt. And of course, I had my poke too, with a few unnecessary butterflies. We read over the possible side-affects, but are always reassured that the good health later on. As we sat for our 15 minutes, they gave the kids stickers and suckers to pass the time...note to self and other caregivers, a sucker after a vaccination is probably not the best idea. Read on.
Max kept complaining of a sick tummy. We went home to get showered up and ready to drive out to Banff with some of Tyler's friends. Max threw up at home and it was mostly green, from previously mentioned sucker. We showered him up too, asked him how he was feeling and headed out the door. Since my kids were about 1, they have thrown up after a vaccination, so I wasn't too worried. We headed out to Banff for a trip up Johnston's Canyon (that's another blog in itself). Max was a little tired and didn't really eat much most of the day, but again, we weren't worried. Once we were done with our hike, we decided to head into the town of Banff and have some dinner at Earl's. We were there only a few minutes when Max decided to 'explode'. I'm talking taking off the diaper (obviously), onesie, pants, the whole nine yards. He ended up sitting on my lap at the table for a few minutes in just a diaper and shirt and socks. But we didn't last there long as we headed back to the bathroom for many more explosions. Needless to say, I didn't get to eat my dinner at Earl's. I texted Tyler from the ladies washroom many times for extra diapers from the van, a plastic bag to put his messy clothes into, and finally a plea for us to just get the heck outta there! For the most part he stood naked in the stall, and I would put him on the toilet when needed, because I was done to one last diaper that had to last us home. He threw up a few more times and decided to cuddle with mom for a few minutes and then have diarrhea all over my leg. Oh, the people at Banff Earl's must have loved me! We stopped at Safeway on our way out and bought a package of diapers just in case and drove into the night. Tyler's friends were very understanding and helpful as we didn't get to visit much. I rushed Max out to the waiting van in nothing but his diaper and shirt and had him sit on my coat in his carseat to contain any mess that might happen. He ended up being fine on the way home and watched a few kids shows on our DVD player and ate most of my french fries from my meal, which we thought was a good sign. We cleaned him at in the shower at home and he fell asleep in Tyler's arms in about 2 minutes. That night, he woke up only one time around midnight with a bit more throw-up, but was pretty out of it, so I was able to clean him and his bed up without disturbing him too much. The next morning (Sunday) he was lively and ready to go, so we decided to try out church. He filled his diaper one more time before we left, but we decided to still chance it. His face was a bit pale and his eyes were a bit sunken most of the day, and he was tired (that definitely showed in his major meltdown during sacrament meeting...yes, we ended up in the van for about 20 minutes while he calmed down). Needless to say, that ship has sailed and all are healthy again. The kids have complained for sore arms for a few days now, which is longer than I would have expected, but I seem to remember that the flu shot is usually worse than a regular vaccine.
Like I said, there has been a lot of controversy over this vaccination. Some may have rationalized that we didn't need to get it, because we already had H1N1 and were probably already immune. And I could have avoided Max's Earl's escapade...but to me, the long term gain always outweighs the short-term pain. Not that it matters to anyone else...but I wanted to record this information for posterity sake. Partially for the 'go-vaccine' push I'm obviously giving, and partially because it'll be a funny story to hold over Max's head when he's older and giving me grief.