Ahh... The Guest Post

From the Hubs...

I am ashamed to admit it. Absolutely ashamed. I swore it would never happen and did my best to ensure it would not. My whole life was building to this moment. Years of education. Months of anticipation. Vial after vial of consuming knowledge. And then in an instant, it all came tumbling down.

That's right, LB got an ear infection. So what, you say. But this wasn't just any ear infection--this was an ear infection that was resistant to antibiotics. You heard it hear on Daily Sips: Antibiotic resistance will be the plague of our childrens' generation.

How did this happen? Great question and I'm still trying to figure that out myself. Only two options exist: a) Bacteria living in or on LB developed resistance, or b) LB picked up resistant bacteria from some foreign object. Option A is highly unlikely, as I ensured that he finished every last drop of every antibiotic prescribed. And I monitored his symptoms. And I checked the doctors' prescriptions against my Antibiotic Handbook (yes, there is such a thing, and yes, I have it). Everything checked out. LB most likely did not have resistant bacteria develop in or on him... he was not the figurative petri dish of destruction. (Although if he keeps crawling and finding new things, that could be his new nickname.)

So I'm left with option B: He picked up resistant bacteria from somewhere else. Which means that somewhere out in the world, someone chose not to read the instructions (admission: it was probably a guy) and did not finish their full dose of antibiotics. Selfish. Now my 9 month old has to get a series of 6 shots over the course of 5 days because someone thought "I have no more symptoms, I must be better."

Nevertheless, it never looks good for a microbiologist's son to contract an antibiotic resistant infection. So I hold my head in shame. You may have won this round Streptococci, but I will be waiting next time. You have met your match and your chains will be broken. (That's a little microbiological pun. Streptococci grow in a chain formation. I crack myself up... seriously... I am laughing out loud at that.)

Here's where I stand on my soap box (provided Kelley doesn't cut this from the blog): Get your children vaccinated. Get your children vaccinated. Get your children vaccinated. (I said it three times because it's not official unless you say it three times.) 150 years of science say it's safe. 150 years of science say it's efficacious. And no, the government is not trying to control your mind. (If they wanted to do that, they'd just dangle cash in front of our noses, because we all see how most Americans will do anything for money.) Stepping off my soap box now. Hopefully none of you stop following Daily Sips after that little rant.

Until next time....