Measles does have consequences.  I should know.  It happened to me.  The memories of my childhood are faded but some things you never forget.  The year was 1960 and I was in the third grade.

I remember my mother being on the telephone and me crying; I had a headache and stomach ache.  Soon I was in San Jacinto Methodist Hospital in Baytown, Texas.  I don’t remember much about the stay other than I was drowsy and confined during the biggest snow storm ever.  All I could do is look out the window and see the flakes that accumulated on the windowsill.

Two spinal taps were done.  The is a procedure where a needle is inserted into the spinal canal in order to collect cerebrospinal fluid which is then tested to help diagnose diseases of the central nervous system.

Then I recall being at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.   How long I was there, I don’t know.  My parents died years ago; I wish I could ask them more about my stay.  I remember being seen by a psychologist who asked me what animal I would want to be and I answered with my favorite bird, the Goldfinch.  When he asked why I told him so I could be free.

 My doctor was  a short balding man who continued to treat me after my hospital stay.  He had a colorful pediatric office with murals on the wall; the color red being predominate.  I saw him for quite some time after I was released from the hospital, occasionally getting a test where my brain was hooked up to electrodes.  I took a yellow pill for years that I chewed; it tasted chalky.

That year I missed so much school that I was almost held back a grade due to lack of attendance. 

While I was fortunate that I didn’t suffer any lasting physical effects, I did suffer emotional ones.  I became more reserved, not as outgoing. 

Give your child the gift of a measles vaccine.