Well, the holidays are over, the kids are over the chickenpox, and they’re all back to school.   For those who were concerned about ds12, thank you so much for asking; thank G-d he is doing much better!  All any of them have left of the chickenpox are some residual pox scabs, which are rapidly disappearing.

The day after we sent ds9 back to school (before dd11 and ds12), we got a call telling us to pick him up – they needed a letter from the doctor that he was allowed to be there.  So he came home and I took him, along with three other kids, to the doctor that morning – my first time going to a doctor here.  (Dh took ds12 to the emergency room at the hospital, so they also didn’t go to the doctor.)

The pediatrician was pleasant.  He did a quick basic exam on each of them – height, weight, heart, spine.  He made a note in each of their files that they had chickenpox, and then told me the school nurse would probably request that they have their booster shots for the chickenpox.

I thought I might be misunderstanding something (because of course all these conversations are entirely in Hebrew), so I said, “But they had the chickenpox already, so why would they need a shot?”  He told me that they’ll have to get the booster shot so they don’t get chickenpox.  I told him that didn’t make sense, they had it and now have immunity so why would a shot help?  He said it’s to keep them from getting it again.  I responded, statistically it’s a very small percentage of people who get chickenpox more than once, and it didn’t seem logical to give all the kids a booster shot for a childhood disease they already had that people usually only get once, to keep them from getting it again.  He told me he’s just letting me know the school nurse will want them to have it.  Okay, fine.

So we got letters for all of the kids that they’re clear to go back to school, and I asked if this is something they have to have every single time they miss school because they aren’t feeling well.  He said it depends on the school policy, and to speak to them.  I rarely need to take the  kids to doctors, so the idea of taking them for a note every time they have a cold and stay home for a day or two isn’t appealing.  I have to get used to this school frame of mind, I guess.

This morning we got a call from the school nurse – I was washing dishes so my hands were wet, so dh took the call.  When I realized who it was, I mouthed to him that I wanted to speak to her, and after the first sentence with her telling him they wanted vaccination records for ds12, he passed the phone right over.  🙂  She told me they need ds12’s vaccination records, and since we came from the US and the vaccination schedules are different than in the US, he’ll have to have make up shots to be sure he’s on track with the Israeli vaccination schedule.

In Israel, kids have their vaccination records at school and can be vaccinated without your prior knowledge at school.  It’s not like the US, where they just want to know that your kids have had the necessary shots.  But a school nurse vaccinating my children without me knowing about it isn’t acceptable to me.  Fortunately, I was mentally prepared for this issue, because I think you really have to come across very confidently the very first time something comes up.  It cuts down on the conflict significantly.  Otherwise you’re at a big disadvantage and you end up getting into long and protracted arguments from the position of being on the defense.  I told the nurse his medical records will remain with me, and that I will take care of any vaccinations he needs with the doctor myself.  If you don’t submit their records, they can’t receive vaccines at school.

This was a very short and pleasant conversation.  She told me they will need an authorization on file that I refuse to allow my child to be vaccinated at school, and said ds12 can pick up the standard form from the school office to bring home for me to sign.  It’s nice when something is so easy!

Avivah

Related to the chickenpox issue was an interesting experience I had when I took the kids to shul on Simchas Torah.  They hadn’t been contagious for several days, but still had pock marks.  I was astounded to have virtually the same conversation with almost every single person who looked at them.  It went like this:

“Chickenpox?”  Me – ‘yes’.  “We don’t have chickenpox here, everyone is vaccinated.”  (Me, thinking to myself, do they think I brought it over from America with me??)   Me – “No way! None of my kids in the US have ever got it, and within five weeks of arriving here, my five year old caught it from someone in his class – and there were eight kids in his class who all had it the same time as him.”  “Really?”  Me – “Definitely.  And anyway, even kids who are vaccinated can get the chickenpox.”  Them – “Yes, but it’s a lighter case.”  Me – “Yes, but the point is that they get it.”

Then two pregnant women told me they never had chickenpox, and one said she got a vaccination because of the danger to her unborn baby.  The other didn’t and told me she wants her kids to get chickenpox, but not until after she gives birth because of the above concern.  So I said, “You see, it’s not so simple not to get chickenpox when you’re young because then you can end up in more complicated situations like this.  Better the kids should get it young, have immunity, and not have to worry about it later on. ”  Them – agreement.  LOL.