6 years old got Tetanus in Oregon: 57 days of pain and $800,000.00 bill

[Savago]

Just heard about this case.

A 6 years old boy playing in a farm got a small cut on his forehead. No big deal, got the laceration treated at home.

Only 6 days later he was clenching the jaw, having trouble breathing and having muscles spasms. He was air-lifted to the hospital where he was diagnosed with tetanus.

Reason: the parents didn't vaccinate him.

New article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/09/well/oregon-child-tetanus-vaccine.html

Doc's report:
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6809a3.htm?s_cid=mm6809a3_e

A quote from report:
" he had episodes of crying, jaw clenching, and involuntary upper extremity muscle spasms, followed by arching of the neck and back (opisthotonus) and generalized spasticity."

For people who are not aware, opisthotonus is a 'is a state of severe hyperextension and spasticity in which an individual's head, neck and spinal column enter into a complete "bridging" or "arching" position.[1][2]'.

For further details:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opisthotonus

From  the same report: "His opisthotonus worsened, and he developed autonomic instability (hypertension, tachycardia, and body temperatures of 97.0°F–104.9°F [36.1°C–40.5°C]). He was treated with multiple continuous intravenous medication infusions to control his pain and blood pressure, and with neuromuscular blockade to manage his muscle spasms. A tracheostomy was placed on hospital day 5 for prolonged ventilator support. Starting on hospital day 35, the patient tolerated a 5-day wean from neuromuscular blockade. On day 44, his ventilator support was discontinued, and he tolerated sips of clear liquids. On day 47, he was transferred to the intermediate care unit."

It is beyond my understanding how parents can expose their kids to such pain with diseases that can be easily avoided with vaccination.

[Savago]

Forgot to mention:
"Despite extensive review of the risks and benefits of tetanus vaccination by physicians, the family declined the second dose of DTaP and any other recommended immunizations."
 

[old2soon]

     Before I went over seas in 64 they turned me into a human pin cushion. NOT one iota of sorry cuz guessin here most likely saved my life. How bout criminal neglect charges for the-ahem-"parents". WHY on earth did the child have to go thru this other than the "parents" stupidity and downright dumb assery? RIDE SAFE.

[The emperor has no clothes]

    Before I went over seas in 64 they turned me into a human pin cushion. NOT one iota of sorry cuz guessin here most likely saved my life. How bout criminal neglect charges for the-ahem-"parents". WHY on earth did the child have to go thru this other than the "parents" stupidity and downright dumb assery? RIDE SAFE.

I think much of it might be rooted in religion. A friend of mine in high school never had any shots or ever went to the doctor. His Dad was a hardcore Christian Scientist. His Mom died when he was about 5. I never asked him why, but I suspected that it had to do with the fact that they didn't go to doctors. He rode a Kawasaki 500 triple for a while. Maybe 5'4" and couldn't touch the ground with both feet. I never thought about it at the time, but I wonder what would have happened if he ever had an accident. He wasn't into the religion like his Dad, brother, and sister. But he lived in fear of his old man, and doubt he would have went to the hospital unless unconscious.
 Where religion, society, government meet can be a tricky thing.

[f6gal]

    Before I went over seas in 64 they turned me into a human pin cushion. NOT one iota of sorry cuz guessin here most likely saved my life. How bout criminal neglect charges for the-ahem-"parents". WHY on earth did the child have to go thru this other than the "parents" stupidity and downright dumb assery? RIDE SAFE.

I think much of it might be rooted in religion. A friend of mine in high school never had any shots or ever went to the doctor. His Dad was a hardcore Christian Scientist. His Mom died when he was about 5. I never asked him why, but I suspected that it had to do with the fact that they didn't go to doctors. He rode a Kawasaki 500 triple for a while. Maybe 5'4" and couldn't touch the ground with both feet. I never thought about it at the time, but I wonder what would have happened if he ever had an accident. He wasn't into the religion like his Dad, brother, and sister. But he lived in fear of his old man, and doubt he would have went to the hospital unless unconscious.
 Where religion, society, government meet can be a tricky thing.

Unfortunately, of those choosing not to vaccinate their children, religion is not high on the list of reasons.  It's becoming a trendy thing to do.  I work in healthcare, the rising number of non-vaccinated children is scary... and sad.

[Serk]

Anyone researching this topic, I beg of you, I'm sure I've posted this before, but PLEASE read the information on this well researched, scientifically backed site before deciding to vaccinate or not yourself, your kids, your pets, etc:

http://howvaccinescauseautism.org/

[The emperor has no clothes]

    Before I went over seas in 64 they turned me into a human pin cushion. NOT one iota of sorry cuz guessin here most likely saved my life. How bout criminal neglect charges for the-ahem-"parents". WHY on earth did the child have to go thru this other than the "parents" stupidity and downright dumb assery? RIDE SAFE.

I think much of it might be rooted in religion. A friend of mine in high school never had any shots or ever went to the doctor. His Dad was a hardcore Christian Scientist. His Mom died when he was about 5. I never asked him why, but I suspected that it had to do with the fact that they didn't go to doctors. He rode a Kawasaki 500 triple for a while. Maybe 5'4" and couldn't touch the ground with both feet. I never thought about it at the time, but I wonder what would have happened if he ever had an accident. He wasn't into the religion like his Dad, brother, and sister. But he lived in fear of his old man, and doubt he would have went to the hospital unless unconscious.
 Where religion, society, government meet can be a tricky thing.

Unfortunately, of those choosing not to vaccinate their children, religion is not high on the list of reasons.  It's becoming a trendy thing to do.  I work in healthcare, the rising number of non-vaccinated children is scary... and sad.

I'm sure you are correct. I'm out of the loop on such things since the kids are long grown now.

[F6Dave]

When I was young my brother, sister, and I all had measles at the same time.  We pulled through without complications, but I remember being very sick for several days.  It must have been hell for Mom to take care of all of us at once.  Interestingly, Mom actually survived Polio as a teen and is still doing fine today at age 88, but I remember a classmate who wasn't so lucky and wore leg braces.  These are very serious diseases, but most people today have little if any firsthand knowledge of how bad they really are.

It's difficult to make a case that the risks of an MMR vaccine exceed those of the diseases they cover, though if you want to expose your own family to such risks I suppose that's your choice.  But avoiding a Tetanus shot?  That's insane.  The disease is absolutely horrific, if you're lucky enough to survive.

[Skinhead]

They need to show the Iron Lungs kids lived in in the 50's, I'd risk the vaccine.  It's hard to ride with an iron lung.