Maddenation
Hepatitis
Forgive my entering this unpleasant bit of news right after Dad’s beautiful, moving piece to Dan. Pato has Hepatitis A. Adi most likely also has it, though she hasn’t been officially tested. They’ve both been vomiting a little and have aches in the stomache and the head. I, stupidly, believed they had been vaccinated against it, but they were only immune to Hepatitis B (which is much worse). Had we asked for a vaccination against Hepatitis A (because we were traveling to Uruguay), the kids could have gotten it. I also assumed that I had been vaccinated against all kinds of Hepatitis, but some research today has got me believing otherwise. I think the Hepatitis A vaccination just came around in 1995 or so. When I was a missionary, I got regular gamma globulin shots, which are immune boosters meant to thwart Hepatitis A infection (but only short term), therefore I almost certainly didn’t get the vaccine. I don’t yet have any symptoms, and I’m going to see if I can get a gamma globulin shot tomorrow. Apparently you can get the shot after you’ve been exposed and it might still work. Anyway, the kids are in good spirits, bearing it well. The “cure” for this is to stay in bed and eat a special bland diet (no fat, oil, coloring, acids, etc.) for a month or so. You can read more about Hepatitis A (and B through E) on the Center for Disease Control’s website and a subsite of the National Institutes of Health site. Wish us luck. Mom and Dad and Dave, be cautious. I hope you didn’t get any of this. By the way, I already feel terrible about this, so please don’t say “You have to be a better father” or stuff like that.
Patrick • News • 05/15/03 • 0 comments
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