MEASLES?

Wake up those of you with unvaccinated children

I write this for those who are responsible for a child’s health care. It is personal, not political. I write it because I had all the common childhood diseases—Mumps, German Measles, Rheumatic Fever, Whooping Cough, and Measles. Whooping Cough was the most frightening. To this day, maybe 75 years later, I can remember not being able to breathe because I repeatedly was coughing all the air out of my lungs. The worst, however, was the Measles.

I had Measles head to toe-- on my chest, my back, and my arms. I had Measles all over my face, in my eyelids, and in my ear canals. The ones that covered itched so much they drove me crazy. I had Measles inside my mouth and down my trachea. I had them in my stomach. All I could eat when I could eat, was soup. With it came a persistent low-grade fever that sapped my strength. I missed a whole month of school, 30 days, and almost all of them were spent in bed. I remember my teacher sending homework, a pile of handwritten cards, and notes from my classmates.

The itching was torture. A parent’s fear was scratching. Opening up those little bumps could leave permanent scars. Cortisone anti-itch medications had yet to come on the market. Calamine Lotion was the calmative of choice. To this day, I can smell it. Every few hours my mother would come in with cotton balls and the dark bottle with the chalky liquid that offered some shortlived cooling relief. There were days I looked like the overzealous football fans painted in their team’s colors. My team color was pink. When the Calamine Lotion dried, it got hard and flaky. I developed the ability to pick off the flakes carefully. As the flakes peeled off, I got some relief from the itching spots that they covered. I escaped with but one small facial scar. Two words covered my condition: sick and miserable. Given the length of the illness and the misery it brought, I would say I’ve never since been so ill in my life.

Oh, how I feel for those young children in Texas and New Mexico who are down with Measles. It is a persistent virus. More children will fall ill, and many more will be hospitalized. These children, like me, will have the one benefit of having had the virus. We have natural immunity. Let me tell you from experience that I would have much rather have received that measles immunity “diploma” from having been vaccinated than suffering through the sickness. Take it from this veteran of childhood illnesses: get your children vaccinated.