Oh my stars…..here is a rant for you:
If you want to feed your child candy bars and chocolate milk for breakfast, do it. If you want to feed your family only organic whole foods for every meal, do it. If you want to drink wine with every meal, do it. If you feel the need to co-sleep with your child, do it. If you want to never have children, that is your choice. If you never want to get married, that again, is your choice. The point to this post is….whatever works for you, your child, your family…..DO IT.
STOP the dang judgment, just stop it. Your path is not anyone’s path, but your own. No one is walking in your exact same shoes, just like my journey is mine alone. What may work for you, won’t necessarily work for me and visa-versa. If you want to diet, exercise and eat healthy, by all means, do that. If you want to eat out every meal, go right ahead.
I am so sick of the unsolicited advice, recommendations and criticism that people give. Okay, so if you post something on Facebook, it leaves you open to whatever comes your way. Good, bad, indifferent; that is on you. But, if you are sitting there minding your own business and someone sends you a private message criticizing your choices for your family, that is nothing but pure hatred and unsolicited judgment.
It is so funny to me that people are so ignorant. Educate yourself about someone’s ailments before you give them your two cents. AND, only give your 2 cents out of love, encouragement and grace. None of us knows journey’s except our own. I am an expert in my journey, not yours. Just like you are an expert in your journey, not mine. Don’t assume you are helping me when you criticize me…..you are only hurting yourself. I will not respond to ignorance.
The idea of germs building the immune system, I get that. Heck, I received 4 allergy shots per week for 5 years hoping that I would build an immunity to the many things I was allergic to. I was injected 4 times a week with the exact things I was allergic to. So, I get the science behind building immunity. BUT, when you don’t have the components in your body to build immunity or keep your immunity built, no amount of germ exposure is going to help that; in fact, it will do the opposite and make you sicker. That is where we are with Hannah. She has no T-cells (these are the cells in your body that fight infection). She has low IgG, IgM and IgA, which is what makes her immune-compromised and she has no antibodies from her pneumococcal vaccine that she had as a baby. And, yes, she had ALL of her vaccines as a baby, but her body has since lost the antibodies from some of those vaccines. That happened since PANDAS hit. Now, could we re-vaccinate….yes, under normal conditions that would be the recommendation. But, with PANDAS, if we re-vaccinate that vaccine will travel right to her brain, crossing the blood-brain barrier and making her much worse instead of better. No more vaccines for Hannah……EVER!
Now, that I have explained that…..do not think that exposing Hannah to more germs will help…..it will not. It will make her worse. Furthermore, we believe now that she is likely a strep carrier. Hence, the viral infection she got from Dennis, activated the strep that remains dormant in her body. So, she can get something as simple as a basic viral infection and it will turn into strep; which for Hannah could have dire consequences. So, there you have it.
I am so sick of unsolicited advice……I don’t mind if it is given in love and the “just in case you haven’t thought about this” scenario. But, to criticize me and the choices that DENNIS AND I (I emphasize DENNIS because he is part of this as well, seems though that I get all the criticism for all OUR decisions) are making for OUR family and OUR daughter will not be tolerated. Just stop it……don’t worry about what you perceive others are doing wrong. Worry about what is in your own 4 walls…..I can guarantee you that the happenings in my 4 walls are way different from yours.
I love my daughter with all I have in me. I am doing EVERYTHING for her best interest and well-being. It SUCKS most of the time. This isolation, loneliness, watching the world and fun things pass you by….but, you know what? I do it to keep her safe, healthy, well and to protect her. Not the way I want to live but the cards we have been dealt. I feel like I do it to the best of my ability and I can straight up tell you that there are many people out there who couldn’t do what I do. So, before you judge me and the way I take care of my family with all I have, worry more about your own life and taking care of your family to the best of your ability.
Do I want to do this all the time? NO, but you know what? I will……until I take my last breath. I will do exactly what I am doing and I will never have regret nor will I question the choices Dennis and I have made because at the end of the day…..Hannah is still with us and I plan on keeping it that way!
Happy Freaking Sunday!
Until next time………….