Jumping Through Hoops

Yesterday I took Savannah for her school entrance physical and immunizations. It was extremely chaotic as we have moved between four states seven times since Logan was born. This makes for an extremely messed up shot record, times three. In the midwestern states they are pretty picky about requiring original shot cards that your child receives upon birth. Iowa actually transferred all of this information from the Ohio cards to their state cards and insisted I had to present the actual card each time the children received shots. It didn't help when the doctor's offices didn't transfer them to the new pediatrician when request forms were signed here. It also doesn't help that I changed pediatricians offices here a couple of years ago and they also didn't send the records or bother to update the confused mess of cards and photocopies I now currently have possesion of when they gave them more shots in 2000. Nor does it help when the DOE destroys the one I had to give them when I transferred Logan here at the end of first grade. They told me on the phone yesterday that since he was not reregistered in a public school within two years of my withdrawing him that it was sent off to be archived onto microfiche and then the original documents were destroyed. Isn't that just lovely? To top it off, the order the shots are given and amount of doses required of each one vary from state to state. It is a mess.

However, after two trips to the pediatrician in a three hour span, several long distance phone calls, one physical, eye exam, and hearing test, lots of intrusive questions about counting, helmets, seat belts and water safety, writing her name one a piece of paper, three shots in two arms and lots of holding her down screaming, she is now ready to be enrolled.

I could have just taken the easy way out and signed a waiver stating that we don't immunize because of our beliefs but that wouldn't exactly be truthful. I don't exactly like the whole immunization thing but when I started my mothering career no one told me that all of that was optional nor did anyone educate me on the many reasons for refusing to do it. I always thought it was against the law not to. So after moving here I figured I may as well finish what I started and pray what ever they are putting into my children doesn't hurt them. I am not in the mood to go up against the DOE for providing false information anyway. The DOE is bad enough in my nightmares. Also, I have been a good mom and hauled all of these documents all over the country with me. The least these people could do is keep track of them in their own offices. I think the DOE should be required to mail the family any and all documents they have after the child has been withdrawn from public school. That is just stupid that they refused to give them to me when I took him out and then destroyed them. I also think that the immunization schedules should be the same across the country and there should be one certified form. Some sort of federal form instead of all of these state forms. But then again, no one asked me.

Oh. While I am ranting, Crayola needs to make erasable crayons. I am tired of trying to explain to Hope why it is nearly impossible to erase a line she didn't mean to draw on her picture.

Posted by gwendolyn on August 12, 2003 at 02:50 PM