Needs, Wants, and Tetanus

Lucy needs a sandbox.



"Need" is a funny word, isn't it?  I think Americans have a very distorted idea of what a "need" is.  I know I do.


 
I catch myself using it for the most bizarre, non-essential items.



Anyways, I really want for Lucy to have a sandbox.  I didn't so much before.  But then I saw how she loves this pile of dirt.  Loves it.  Wanted to play in it all night long.



And I realized that sand, while messy, probably isn't as messy as dirt.  And I bet she'd like sand just as much as she likes this dirt.



No... Lucy doesn't need a sandbox.  But she does need a DTaP.



I've never blogged about the fact that we've delayed Lucy's vaccines.  It's an educated decision on our parts, but it's also a rather polarizing topic--particularly in my profession.

 

But I have to say that realizing she was playing with dirt... and is not vaccinated against Tetanus... was sort of a surreal moment--one in which I simultaneously pondered my diagnostic ability in the detection of Tetanus infection and also debated driving her immediately to the ER for a Tetanus IgG Antibody injection.

 

I also considered the feasibility (or lack thereof) of calculating the risk of Clostridium tetani contamination in that particular bag of dirt I'd purchased.  It was a silent moment of panic. 

 

It suffices to say that I'll feel more comfortable when she begins to be immunized against some of these illnesses that are so rare in our country but can be so serious.  I find this topic of childhood immunizations so profoundly complex and interesting on so many levels... but also very personal.   
 

But it's a huge relief to find myself looking forward to the beginning of her vaccination series, since this subject caused Daniel and me so much concern a year ago.  And I'm looking forward to playing in the dirt with her... once she's got a few DTaPs in her system.