I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease when I was 9 years old. I receive IV infusions of a Crohn’s medication at the hospital every 8 weeks. My Crohn’s medicine keeps my disease in remission, but the other effect is lowering my immune system. Because my immune system is lowered, I rely on other people to […]
Often, when we scratch beneath the surface of someone who is anti-vaccine, we find conspiracy theories abound. We are also seeing them grow during the time of COVID. Why are anti-vaxxers prone to conspiratorial thinking and what can we do to turn people toward rational thought, instead? In this episode, Karen and Nathan discuss these […]
While the world is consumed with justifiable fears of COVID-19, measles, polio, and even diphtheria are finding pathways to resurgence. What is going on with those routine childhood vaccines? Are they really important right now? Karen and Nathan discuss this critical topic and what you can do to make sure we are preventing multiple health […]
This is hard to write. How do you write to someone who despises your very existence and yet has never met you? Someone who would rather risk the lives of their children, and other children, rather than run the risk of having a child like me. Someone with autism. My existence is, apparently, a living […]
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re focused on this one, novel infection. It’s almost as if time has stopped and we’ve forgotten about the many childhood diseases that, thanks to science, we can prevent! Is it just me, or does it feel like flu season was eons ago? But it’s our job to […]
The world’s vaccinologists are racing against time to find a safe, effective vaccine to protect against SARS-CoV-2. In our latest Vax Talk episode, we talked to our friend and infectious disease expert, Dr. Stanley Potkin, about how vaccines are typically developed and what is being done now to make the one vaccine the world desperately […]
I don’t want to label you an “anti-vaxxer.” That term has so many negative associations, and there is a lot more to you than that one decision. You may have many reasons not to vaccinate, but I heard that fear of your child becoming autistic is one of them. I get that you are scared […]
Editor’s Note: March 21, 2020 is Anal Cancer Awareness Month. HPV causes a majority (91%) of anal cancers and is preventable through vaccination. Thank you to the Anal Cancer Foundation for allowing us to republish this piece. On New Year’s Day 2019 my husband and I trekked up to the top of Diamond Hill in […]
Have you gotten questions about coronavirus and warm weather? Ibuprofen? Bioweapons? A lot of misinformation and disinformation is circulating concerning COVID-19, and people are unsure how to talk to others about the pandemic. We invited journalist Tara Haelle to talk to us about how to get the best information to your family and friends. See […]
Every year on the anniversary of Kimberly’s death, her mother, Patti, bakes Italian rainbow cookies and places them on the tiny beach she’s created on Kimberly’s gravesite. What must it be like to sit beside your child’s tombstone? What must it feel like to leave her favorite uneaten cookies behind you as you walk away […]