The Death of Common Sense?

Okay, a small detour into Things That Annoy Me Greatly.

In yesterday's New York Times, there was an article about a measles outbreak in San Diego earlier this year. Nine of the twelve kids hadn't been vaccinated because their parents didn't believe in it.

Excuse me?

I did a double-take when I read this. Illnesses killed many, many children in the days before vaccines and now that we have vaccines, some parents are choosing to...what? Put their kids and everyone else's at risk? Because...why? Some internet-based fad that says vaccines are responsible for everything from autism to zebra stripes (okay, that last was hyperbole.)

I'm not one of "those" parents who normally goes around pushing my way of doing things on people. Breastfeed or don't, just feed your kid. Co-sleep, or don't---just make sure your kid gets sleep. Cloth diaper or disposable diaper, doesn't matter, just so long as they wear something. :) And so on. But in my mind, vaccines aren't negotiable. And I honestly can't imagine the mentality of a parent that can believe that much in herd immunity, or who is willing to risk the health of their kid and everyone else's kid for some internet fad based on poor science and worse research.

But all of this brings me to my original statement. I wonder if parents who don't vaccinate really comprehend what they're risking. Roisin spent her first five weeks in the NICU, wired to machines and alarms and tubes that kept her alive. Having seen that, there is nothing on this earth that would make us risk seeing her in another ICU, and so, we do all we can to make sure she doesn't end up there.

Common sense can't be dead in America. Can it?

Weirdest Vacation Evah :)

On another board, a bunch of fellow bloggers are writing about their weirdest vacations.

So, here's mine:

When I was ten, my dad, mom and I went to the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, TN. Not the first place you'd think of as, oh, family-friendly, but you know, it was pretty cool. The people were very nice and I wasn't the only kid there. It was just weird because at the time, neither my mom or I drank. (Well, obviously I didn't---I was ten.) What I do remember, though, was this ginormous iron safe in the office. Seems ol'Jack had himself a bit of a temper and kicked it hard one day. Broke his toe and died of gangrene not too long afterwards. Ouch. :-O

On that same trip, we went to Twitty City. Conway Twitty (the country western singer) had set this place up as, I suspect, a giant tax writeoff. It was a park built along the theme of "How Great I Am." You could see a replica of Twitty's house, the obligatory gift shop, and lots and lots of ephemera about the guy's life. Except that I had no idea who he was (and being ten, being interested would have just been so uncool.) C'est la vie. :)

So, broken toes, iron safes and Twitty City. That's my weirdest vacation. :-)

It's Always Something...

I just got back from my follow-up appointment with my kidney doc. The good news is that the kidney stones in my left kidney are now two or three smaller fragments, instead of two large ones.
The bad news is that I still have kidney stones, and I now know I'm facing another two or three shockwave treatments before it's gone.

I can deal with that. I mean, I'm not happy at the prospect of more hours of post-op vomiting or what exotic complication I can come up with this time, but the stones need to be gone. The doc offered the option of surgery, but that involves an even more painful recovery and a few weeks (!!!) off work.

Um, no. I did the "few weeks off work" thing in 2006. The "few weeks" was the last nine weeks of my pregnancy, and I was glad to do it...but I just can't afford to do it now. So, more shockwave therapy for me. Yippee :0)

This guy gets it

In writing this blog, I've tried not to touch on anything too political or controversial (okay, coming out of the broom closet as a witch-in-training isn't all that controversial to me, but others might not agree. ;-) mainly because I figure there's enough bloggers doing that stuff. I just wanted my little corner of the blogosphere to be a little more mellow.

But just for today, I'm swerving off that road for a very short detour. Yesterday, I read the transcript of Sen. Obama's speech about his pastor. And the thought that keeps coming to mind is, "This guy gets it." He does. He really gets the harm that racism does in this country, and what it's like to see that racism in friends and family we know and love. Whatever happens in this election, he will have my admiration for having the cojones to actually come out and stare the 900 pound gorilla in the face.

I don't know if he'll win the election, but the courage I saw in his words makes me think he wouldn't be a bad president. It takes a brave man to say, "He's my friend," even when that friend is a flaming arsehole at times...and especially when you think of how much more politically expedient it would have been for him to have completely cut ties with his pastor.

Integrity. In a politician, no less. Who'd have thunk? :)

Doctor, Doctor...parte the thirde :)

(And hopefully, the last.) I have antibiotics now. And I feel loads better---I was able to sleep last night without a fever and I finally feel like I might be over the worst of whatever this is. Maybe. I hope. :)

But whatever happens, I've decided that as soon as my kidney issue(s) are done with, I'm done with this doctor. Nothing against his actual practice of medicine---it certainly seems like he knows what he's doing medically. But his bedside manner...um, no. I don't have to have him as my primary care doctor (he's a specialist) so with any luck, our time together is almost over.

In other news, it's just Roisin and I tonight. Rob went off to do some guy stuff with some friends of his, which is fine. It leaves Roisin and I with some mom-daughter time and it gives Rob a break. So, no worries here.

If anyone's reading this, have a good night. :)

Doctor, doctor...parte the seconde :)

Doc called back yesterday. After listening to my symptoms, he's decided to call in a prescription for antibiotics. If that doesn't work, I have to go back for further tests.

Of course, the antibiotic prescription wasn't called in yesterday. So I have to rattle his cage this morning, because I really don't want to spend my weekend feeling like crap (again.) So there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Maybe. I hope.

Doctor, doctor...can't you see I'm burning, burning?

The saga continues.

I don't have a UTI. I went to the doc on Monday and had his lab run a test. Nope, that's not my problem. But since I'm still having fevers at night, it's anyone's guess as to what really is going on. This isn't exactly normal post-op stuff, even for my strange system. So I've got a call in to my Doc. Haven't heard anything yet, though with my luck, he didn't listen to his nurse and called me at work instead of at home like I asked (hey, I was home sick yesterday.)

I'm back to work today, regardless. I don't have a reason to stay home---I'm not running a fever this moment, and I feel okay (not great, but okay.) So here's hoping I feel great for the next ten hours or so.