Preventable Pain: Stories of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases

In the past, many kids died young from diseases we can now prevent with vaccines. Now, some people are choosing not to vaccinate, and these diseases are coming back. This is a big problem because these illnesses can cause serious harm or even death. Janith Farnham and her daughter Jacque know this all too well. Jacque was born with congenital rubella syndrome because Janith got rubella when she was pregnant. This syndrome caused Jacque to have hearing problems, eye issues, heart defects, and intellectual disabilities. Janith did everything she could to help Jacque, but it was hard. Jacque still has health problems today, like diabetes and arthritis. Janith wishes more people would vaccinate their kids to prevent others from going through what she and Jacque have experienced. Patricia Tobin also knows the pain of losing a loved one to a preventable disease. Her little sister Karen died from measles complications when she was just six years old. Back then, the measles vaccine wasn't required for school, and Karen's mom didn't think it was urgent to get her vaccinated. But when a measles outbreak hit, Karen got very sick and died. Tobin is upset that some people today are still not taking measles seriously and are not vaccinating their kids. Lora Duguay got polio when she was just three years old. She was very sick and had to stay in the hospital. The doctors thought she would never walk again, but she did after a lot of treatment. But when she was older, she got post-polio syndrome, which made it hard for her to walk and do things. She had to learn to paint in new ways to keep doing what she loved. Duguay is glad that polio is now rare because of vaccines, but she wishes more people would get vaccinated to keep it that way. Katie Van Tornhout lost her baby daughter Callie to whooping cough when she was just 37 days old. Callie was too young to get the vaccine, and she was exposed to someone who hadn't gotten their booster shot. Van Tornhout is now an advocate for childhood immunization and shares her story to encourage others to vaccinate their kids. These stories show how important vaccines are. They can prevent serious harm and even death. It's important to get vaccinated to protect ourselves and others, especially those who can't get vaccinated for medical reasons.