Oh my goodness. I cringe every time I see this debate.
Both sides tend to be so…intense in their choice.
I am scared to tell people I vaccinated my children, and that yes, I get the flu vaccine.
There, I’ve said it.

I’ve thought about my decision before making it, I researched both sides, and I kept an open mind. In the end, I felt vaccines were the equivalent to cars. They come with some risk, but they serve a purpose.
Anti-vaccine advocates say that the vaccines do nothing and are dangerous.
And pro-vaccine advocates say they save so many lives.

There is data supporting both sides but neither are absolute truths.

I don’t discriminate if you choose not to vaccinate. Because you just don’t know what will happen. Fear of an adverse reaction is human.
And I don’t discriminate if you do vaccinate because you just don’t know what will happen. Fear of polio and other possibly life threatening disease is human.
We are all humans very much aware of our impending death and trying to make the best decisions based on existing data but having really no proof of what the futur will be.

It has been suggested by hard core anti vaccine advocates on a particular fb page that the flu vaccine could be making my MS worst (or my pickles as I call it now). I have gotten many suggestions on many different subjects actually. But I only started getting the flu vaccine about 10 years after being diagnosed. Since beginning to get the flu vaccine I haven’t gotten the flu, seizures, rashes, or any other adverse reaction. One year I didn’t get the vaccine (I was planning to) and I got the flu. I woke up paralyzed. I couldn’t move my legs at all, and I could barely move my arms. And let’s get into details here. I wet myself on multiple occasions because I was PARALYZED!. It was scary, it was frustrating, it was degrading, and it was very hard looking my young kids in the eyes and telling them everything would be ok. It took me weeks to get better and even longer before I felt strong enough to leave the house. I still feel like I never fully recuperated. And that is my truth. My truth is I exercised on a daily basis, I drank herbal teas and water, I had a good healthy reasonable diet, I only drank alcohol on special occasions, I didn’t do drugs (illegal or pharmaceutical), I was happy, positive. I had a good job, pass-times, friends. And I still got pickles. For all I know I got pickles from riding a camel in the Sahara. This is my truth.

I don’t want to be made to feel guilty for being sick. I did my best, and I continue to do so. I will also continue to get the vaccine because I haven’t gotten the flu since. That is my data, my facts. And for some to think I am making the wrong decision, that I am naive and uninformed is…. hurtful.

20 years ago my neighbors had their son vaccinated when he was a baby and he had a bad reaction. He developed epilepsy and had such severe seizures that it left him with permanent brain damage. That is their truth. They did not have their second son vaccinated and I don’t blame them. That is their data.

We don’t yell at people when they get into a car. Even though we know the risk. Car accidents are very high on the list of causes of death every year. Much higher then vaccine reactions. But people get into cars. They put their children in the car. We don’t yell at them. We understand the need to get from point a to b. And if they do get into an accident we don’t use that as proof that cars don’t work. “see, you got into an accident and didn’t make it to point b, therefore cars don’t work”. Cars don’t always work, vaccines don’t always work. But often they do.

Please don’t judge me for making a decision that wasn’t necessarily easy, but the one I thought was best for my family based on all the data I could find, and trusted.