Jaxon’s Story
My son Jaxon got measles when he was 7 months old, too young to get immunized. He recovered, but five years later he started having seizures and began losing his ability to swallow,speak, and walk. We learned his condition was caused by the measles virus. His death a few short years later opened our eyes to the fact that measles is a leading cause of death among young children worldwide, even though we have an effective vaccine.
Locally, we found out that more parents are not fully immunizing their children, putting them at risk to get and spread measles and other terrible
diseases. We hope our story can help prevent another child from experiencing what Jaxon went through.
-Paula Abalahin, Jaxon’s mom
Ella’s Story
Ella was born 9 weeks premature due to an enlarged and weakened heart. She survived, but because of her heart problems she is considered “compromised” and at higher risk for viruses and diseases. For this reason, our doctors cautioned us to keep her sheltered during her first few months. We have kept others away, but we can’t control who we – or our two older boys – interact with outside the home. This means we can’t control all the germs we bring home to her.
This is when we first heard the concept of “community immunity” and it makes perfect sense to us. “Compromised” children like Ella rely on other people around them for protection.
Having a baby with medical problems has opened our eyes to immunization in a new way. We understand that vaccinated people form a protective barrier around the weak members of our community. We encourage everyone to get immunized and our entire family thanks you for doing so!
-Christa & Erik, Ella’s parents
Daniel’s Story
When he was 7, my son Daniel got whooping cough (pertussis) from an un-immunized playmate. He got horribly sick, missed weeks of school, and it took three years for him to fully recover. We were shocked to learn from the school nurse that nearly one out of four kids in Daniel’s class was not immunized. All of these kids were at risk to get and pass on this terrible disease. Daniel’s doctor told us that if more children in his class had been immunized, it could have prevented my son from getting whooping cough.
-Cheri Rae, Daniel’s mother