Doctors told Vallejos she had four options: abortion; taking the pregancy to term and letting nature take its course; putting her baby through three separate reconstructive heart surgeries after birth; or getting him on the transplant waiting list.
The soon-to-be mother was overcome by fear. But she took her chances and put him on the transplant list.
Her son, Gabriel, is now 8. He gets to live a pretty normal life and goes to school full time in Alameda, California, thanks to the immunosuppressant drugs he’s taking for his heart. He takes two pills every day so that his body will not reject the donor heart that keeps him alive. Because his immune system can’t fight off the weakened live virus in the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, it is the only vaccination he can’t have.
Now, with about 100 cases of measles having sprouted up across the U.S. this year, more than half of them in California, Vallejos is gravely concerned about her son’s safety.
–
She remembers parents had no choice about immunizing their kids. Students were simply lined up at the gym or lunchroom and inoculated. “I don’t remember anyone who refused for their kids to be immunized at that time,” she says.
Lambert has five adult children. They were all immunized when they were younger, and all six of her grandchildren are vaccinated as well, including her grandson Isaac who is 12 years old and was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome at age 5. Her family does not believe Isaac’s condition has anything to do with vaccinations.
“Most folks my age and older remember the horrors of measles, polio and smallpox. We surely don’t want that to happen again.”
Complete coverage on measles
