The Internet situation. OK… technically we *do* have wi-fi but the signal is really bad at the bedroom end of the house right now for whatever reason and I’m having to head back to the kitchen in order to post this entry and to send email. Given how little sleep I’ve gotten over the last few nights and the amount of email I need to write, this is a bit irritating. I’m looking forward to Sunday when my father-in-law can install the new modem and I can do things like blog while waiting out Daniel falling asleep in his own room.
Vaccine Take #1. This past week, we got an email from my Daniel’s pediatrics practice saying that they will not be accepting any new patients who are not willing to vaccinate their kids. Any current parents of patients who are not adequately vaccinated have been told to work with their pediatrician on a plan to immunize their kids. This is a pretty diverse practice with at least one of the pediatricians being somewhat open to homeopathy and some alternative forms of medicine so I have a feeling that there are going to be a number of medical offices that adopt a similar policy.
Obviously, there are going to be exceptions to the rule such as cancer patients, kids who have had transplants, etc. and I think one of the deciding factors is that we’re close enough to Anaheim (where Disney is located) that people are 1-2 degrees of separation removed from one of the measles patients from the outbreaks earlier this year. (One of the pediatricians has privileges at two hospitals in Orange County, including CHOC where all the “interesting” cases get sent.) LA County has also seen some deaths of kids from pertussis (whooping cough) so I think the doctors are just not taking any chances.
Vaccine Take #2. One of the annoying things about the Internet is that people can post complete and utter lies and misinformation with no impunity and some of them even create names for the sites that sound like they’re actually legit. (Example: Vaccine Liberation Army.) My recommendation is that you look at whatever studies/papers/articles they cite in their original forms rather than taking the site’s word for it. At the very least, the abstract of the study/paper/article is online and you can see what it actually says. I give this advice not only for the sites like Vaccine Liberation Army but also for any other sites including the CDC. Two other reputable sites are the AAP Immunization site and the Vaccine Education Center site from CHOP.
Just when we got drought-tolerant in California. We got some rain last night — not enough to help significantly but we did get some. My parents were spreading the bark over the lawn they removed and had to stop because it was raining so hard and there was thunder and lightning. (My dad’s comment is that they were “drowning in irony”.) It also did something to the phone systems at my church because they’re down today and our vicar had to put up her cell phone number as the main contact number for everything until further notice.
Promoting truthiness in South Carolina schools. Stephen Colbert just announced he would fund every existing grant request for South Carolina teachers on the Donors Choose website. I know some teachers in that state and what he is doing is huge. (By the way, Donors Choose is a *fabulous* organization and their thank-you notes are freaking amazing.) If I didn’t already love Stephen Colbert before, I think I totally would now.
In other shocking news… I was at a follow-up appointment with my new physician assistant and she was looking over my vitals and decided to take my blood pressure again. Apparently, it was really low and she is of the opinion that I need to stop my blood pressure meds temporarily because I might not need them. Considering the screaming hissy fit I threw 3 1/2 years ago when I was put on them by one of my doctors in northern California, I’m pretty happy because it’s one less pill in my pill box.
Speaking of blood pressure… Elevated blood pressure is one of the warning signs of preeclampsia. I’m walking a 5K on my 35th birthday in a week and a half to raise money and awareness of the other warning signs. Want to sponsor me? Click here.
For more Quick Takes, visit Kelly at This Ain’t The Lyceum.