About 50 years ago, I was a nursing instructor at what is now Oregon Health & Science University School of Nursing, teaching pediatric nursing. One of the patients we cared for was a young boy, about 8 years old, suffering from complications from measles. He was comatose, unresponsive; a very sick little boy. He did not recover but instead succumbed to those complications, an awful loss to his parents and siblings — and to the hospital staff, the students who cared for him, and this nursing instructor.
His death from “just the measles” was probably not preventable. This incident occurred before the vaccine was widely available. However, that vaccine is readily available today. There is no reason for a child to succumb to this disease. It is not “just the measles”; its complications are awful. Clark County reports 16 cases of it currently. That is 16 too many!
Get the vaccination. Parents, make sure all your children are vaccinated. You’ve likely heard of awful possible side effects from the vaccine: they are untrue.
And while I’m at it, get your flu shot, too! Your flu shot protects not only you but also babies, kids, older adults, and folks with compromised immune systems from what could be a deadly disease.
