Chicken Pox

Prior to publicly funded varicella vaccine my husband and I purchased the vaccine for our eldest three daughters (our youngest daughter qualified for publicly funded varicella).  Our eldest daughter became sick with Hodgkin's Lymphoma Stage III and went on to require an Autologous Stem Cell Transplant.  Following a hospital admission to the BC Children's Hospital Onclogy ward our daughter was exposed to chicken pox.  She needed to be given VZig (Immune Globulin specific to chicken pox that provides temporary passive immunity to chicken pox virus) and then isolated five days later for 28 days.  We had to live in a motel away from Ronald McDonald House so as not to expose other immune compromised children.  After our daughter recovered she needed to receive a repeat dose of her childhood vaccines, including a booster dose of varicella.  I work as a Public Health Nurse and never in my career was the importance of aiming to have the majority of the population immunized against vaccine preventable illnesses more apparent, than when our daughter was battling cancer and severely immune compromised.  We vaccinate for our own health, our families and our communities - especially those too vulnerable to receive vaccine protection themselves!