Immunizations are vital to our young people

Immunizations are vital to our young people

Editor:

A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to the evening news, as I was packing my bags for a trip to Spokane, when I heard a shocking statistics. Montana is one of the states lagging behind in the immunization of our children!

You see, my trip to Spokane was to have surgery, which was the direct result of damage done because I had polio.

I know that there are risks and beliefs for not having children immunized, but I am asking that you reconsider.

Next time that you are in a crowd, look around until you see a baby approximately 9 months of age, then find someone in their late 60s. Think of how many days span the difference of the two lives. This is the number of days that I have lived with polio and there hasn't been a day that has been pain-free.

The physical and mental pain has lived with me every day except for those first nine months.

I am a polio survivor. I consider myself blessed, because I lived, many polio victims did not.

I walked, sometimes with braces and crutches, many polio victims could not walk. I fell in love, married, had two wonderful children, seven adorable grandchildren and two very precious great-grandchildren, whereas many polio victims were unable to have a family of their own. Polio struck me before there was an immunization against it. If you fail to have your child immunized, you run a risk of your child living with the consequences of the disease. Polio can find your child.

Juanita Campbell

Havre

Editor:

A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to the evening news, as I was packing my bags for a trip to Spokane, when I heard a shocking statistics. Montana is one of the states lagging behind in the immunization of our children!

You see, my trip to Spokane was to have surgery, which was the direct result of damage done because I had polio.

I know that there are risks and beliefs for not having children immunized, but I am asking that you reconsider.

Next time that you are in a crowd, look around until you see a baby approximately 9 months of age, then find someone in their late 60s. Think of how many days span the difference of the two lives. This is the number of days that I have lived with polio and there hasn't been a day that has been pain-free.

The physical and mental pain has lived with me every day except for those first nine months.

I am a polio survivor. I consider myself blessed, because I lived, many polio victims did not.

I walked, sometimes with braces and crutches, many polio victims could not walk. I fell in love, married, had two wonderful children, seven adorable grandchildren and two very precious great-grandchildren, whereas many polio victims were unable to have a family of their own. Polio struck me before there was an immunization against it. If you fail to have your child immunized, you run a risk of your child living with the consequences of the disease. Polio can find your child.

Juanita Campbell

Havre