We're MUMP FREE!!!

Yes, that's right... we confirmed today that Madelyn does NOT have mumps. Let me back up a few days...

On Sunday evening, I noticed the side of Maddie's face was swollen... about 2 inches in diameter. She had 5 vaccines on Friday, so I thought it was probably a reaction. I called her pediatrician on Monday, and she said to bring her on in.

When the doctor saw her, she thought there was a chance that Madelyn had Mumps. Our clinic doesn't vaccinate against them until 12 months, so there was a chance that maybe she did pick them up from somewhere- eventhough we had no idea where. The only way to catch mumps is from someone else who is infected.

Mumps in itself isn't usually all that dangerous, but like everything else, there are always exceptions. One of the main reasons they vaccinate against the disease is because it can cause infertility in boys who catch it. The doctor immediately reminded me though that Carsen was vaccinated at 12 months, so he was safe.

They had to draw blood to determine if she had mumps or not. This was terrible! Because of the amount of blood they needed from her, a finger prick wouldn't do the trick. They had to draw it out of her arm. This was pure torture for both of us. It took them 3 seperate pokes to finally find her vain. Madelyn was screaming and crying. I was crying. Carsen was just standing there petrified, hearing his sister scream and seeing his mommy cry... poor kid. Had I known what we were going to go through that day, Keith would have definatly escorted us to the doctor.

We played the waiting game yesterday.... most people who we're around have been vaccinated, but I didn't want to go out in public, b/c if she did have mumps, she could have infected others who hadn't had the shot. But this morning we got the call that her bloodwork came back, and she is mump free. What a relief!!

As I already mentioned, mumps isn't usually too serious in itself, but once someone is diagnosed with mumps, the Department of Health is contacted and an investigation is started. We would have had to tell them everyone who we have had any contact with the past month. They would have investigated to find out where the disease came from. I'm so thankful that we didn't have to go through that.

And if you're one of my friends who I talk to on a regular basis and think "Hmmm... why didn't Amy mention this a few days ago??". Well, here's why... mumps is a virus, so there is nothing that you can do to help run it's course. I didn't want to scare everyone into making them think that maybe we infected their child... instead I decided to wait for the outcome, rather than causing false alarm.. And now I am glad I did.

I know that vaccinating kids is such a contriversal subject. I have chosen, however to follow the doctor's recommendations on the shots I give my kids. MMR (measels, mumps, rubella) is very contriversal, b/c some say there is a link between the MMR shot and autism. It was just proven in court though that there is no link between the 2. I totally respect others that don't get shots though... I know everyone has their own opinion on why they do or don't... but going through this situation made me even more confident in our decision to vaccinate our kids.