I love my friends! Especially my internet friends, who are often chosen because I have identified something in them that makes me want to be like them.
In the past, I have mentioned Rita Alexandrea as one of those friends I want to be like someday. She writes, she cruises. And – best of all – she cruises WHILE she writes. Oh, how envious I am! Today, Rita has proven her worth as a friend.
Yesterday, I posted a response rant concerning the CDC’s suggestion that all baby boomers get tested for Hepatitis C virus. While I agreed that those with risk factors should be tested, which is what the CDC has always espoused, the CDC’s initiative is for all boomers to have the Hepatitis C test, regardless of risk factor. To that, I objected, as one member of the generation with zero drug use and no transfusion history, which were the reasons identified as the major reasons for boomers to be tested. I honestly didn’t see the point, and secretly wondered if maybe there was a hidden agenda in there somewhere (as she whispers biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggggg phaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarmaaaaaaaa and looks around cautiously).
Rita responded quickly to this post, pointing out that – well, I’ll let her tell you:
You could have knocked me over with a feather. RH factor shots (aka RhoGam) were commonly given to women within 72 hours of childbirth, if they had RH-Negative factor blood and if their child was RH positive (I don’t know what the accepted preventative is these days). Who’d a thunk it? As one of the approximately 15% of the population with RH negative blood, and having had two RH-positive children, I had two of these injections, and then, pretty much forgot about them. I am pretty sure I didn’t even realize they involved blood products. Although I am normally an active and involved participant in my own health care, I was just too busy taking care of my kids to even think about what “magic” made these shots possible and desirable.
Thanks to these injections, my second child had a wonderful chance at life that he would not otherwise have had (the first child of an RH-Negative mother is not at risk with this condition), and he has enriched my life, as well as the lives of his wife and children, immeasurably! I cannot imagine life without him, so whatever risk factor I encountered as a result of these injections was well worth it.
Guess I’ll be getting tested.
Rita, thanks for speaking up! I think I needed that!
