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| One of my prized possessions from Jack's NICU stay, proudly displayed with hand sanitizer at our front door! |
One thing I have discovered about preemie parents is that we
are serious about our hand hygiene! One of us even wrote a post about her favorite hand sanitizer! And
for good reason. Many of our kiddos have
lung disease and many of us take precautions to prevent further lung damage for
our little ones. We know we can’t stop
them from EVER getting sick. But since
we can’t put a bandaid or helmet or cast on those fragile lungs, we do what we
can. We give daily breathing treatments
to keep lungs “open” and decrease inflammation.
We change our lifestyle and spend A LOT of time at home isolated. We limit exposure to illness by often
skipping large family gatherings and avoiding public places (particularly in
the first two years). And, of course, we
practice good hand hygiene. And we ask others
to at least do that, for the health of our child.
So, what I can’t understand, is why SO many people have a
problem with being asked to wash their hands or sanitize them? Don’t get me wrong, my friends and family
were pretty good about following our “rules” and restrictions when it came to
interacting with Jack. And we were
pretty extreme. I know that. We limited visitors, rarely let others hold
him at first, and showered when we returned from work or public places. But it worked. Jack did not have a possibly lung damaging
illness until he was over 2 years old. And
when he did have that illness, his x-ray proved that his lungs still are not
completely healed or fully developed from his premature birth. I hate to think what a respiratory illness
may have done to his lungs in those early months! We are at the end of our 3rd
RSV/flu season and I can’t help but be proud of how far I’ve come from the days
where no one touched Jack and he only left the house for doctor’s appointments. Now, we still practice good hand hygiene, but
we don’t follow the severe precautions we used to like showering after being
out in public or at work or not taking Jack to stores or restaurants. I still like to know if someone is sick, so
that we don’t expose Jack unnecessarily.
But now, Jack has playdates with other kids, goes to story time and the
park, and really enjoys restaurants!
But not everyone’s family and friends are as supportive as
ours. I’ve heard stories of family
members who downright refuse to wash their hands or called preemie mama’s “abusive”
for even making that request. Family
members who stopped visiting because they didn’t.want.to.wash.their.hands. How ridiculous does that sound? I can’t imagine losing time and interaction
with a special family member just because of an argument over handwashing! Blows.my.mind. Seriously, we aren’t asking you to cut off
your fingers…just soap up!
In addition, the debate will continue from well-meaning friends
and family saying that preemies need to build immunities by being exposed to
illness…but for many preemies, coming home from the NICU does not equal
health. Many need time to heal and
recuperate from their premature birth.
They DO NOT need to build immunities or be exposed…at least for the
first year and possibly the second. It’s
a simple as that. Tatum, at Ain't No Roller Coaster does a great job of explaining in this post: But, preemies have to get sick to build their immunity, right? Preemie parents are
protecting the health of their child…the health they prayed for and their child
fought for. Why anyone would contest
that is beyond me.
Wash your hands. Stay
away if your sick. There. I said it. A preemie parent thanks you!
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| The sign used to hang on Jack's car seat and eventually his stroller. |
Absolutely! Spread the word, Heather. :-)
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