Happy Monday everyone! Today my mother arrives from visiting my brother in NY. After a bumpy weekend in the sleeping deprived department (Emilu's immunizations were to blame) we are ready to welcome her for a couple of days. Speaking of immunizations, how's your experienced with them? Although doctors here swear that there aren't any real symptomatic changes in behavior, I disagree wholeheartedly. They tell you that your kids might be crankier than usual. Nothing more. But really, underneath that crankiness must be something more tangible. Dominican doctors are more open minded. They tell you without reservations that the next 72 hours following shots are bound to affect your kids enormously. Headaches, tiredness, fevers, mild diarrhea, changes in appetite, sleep, and overall schedules. They gregariously admit that immunization effects is a contentious field that hasn't been appropriately studied. Therefore, you have to be open-minded.
This reminds me of a conversation I once had with my mother, who was a 2nd year medical student when she changed majors in college. She told me that she didn't want to approach end of life in this country. When she's old and cannot fend for herself, she wants her kids (my brother and I) to accommodate her as much as possible in her own home with a live-in nurse in the island. She hopes to never have to rely on the American healthcare system, especially at the end of life. And we will try hard to make those wishes come true. How about you friends? Are your kids visibly affected by immunizations?
