The Walkers inside the Beltline: Hibernation, Flu, H1N1, and RSV

As the weather turns cooler and swine flu seems to be taking over the state, Jeff and I are realizing we are going to have to put the little bear back into hibernation for another winter. There seems to be some consensus that by age 2, most preemies lungs are much better developed and able to handle sickness better, so hopefully next winter we can be a little more adventurous. For now, we are worried about seasonal flu (although less so because Jeff and I got the flumist in late August and Jake got his shot two weeks ago), H1N1 (no word when they will have vaccine here), and RSV.

Those of you with exceptionally good memories may remember Jeff blogging about RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) last year. For those of you with a memory like mine...RSV is a virus that nearly every child has had by age two. For full-term babies, RSV typically isn't any worse than a common cold, but for preemies, RSV is quite serious. Babies born earlier than 36 weeks are at the highest risk for serious complications from RSV such as pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and other sometimes fatal complications. RSV could easily cause Jake to become so sick he needs to be hospitalized - which is very hard for people (us included) to grasp when he looks so healthy.

To make things even more difficult, RSV is spread very easily through physical contact, in the air via a cough or sneeze, or by touching an infected object. It can live as long as six hours on hands and up to twelve hours on objects.

Frequently people ask us - “Can’t Jake fight it off and build up his immune system? Kids need to get sick, right?” The simple answer is NO. Since Jake was born so early and at such a low birthweight, he did not acquire the necessary immunities to fight off infection. In the NICU Jake spent less than 72 hours on the ventilator, but he spent several weeks on CPAP and on a nasal canula - meaning his lungs were underdeveloped and not strong. His lungs are still not the lungs of a 17 month old (his actual age), and probably not even the lungs of a 14 month old (his adjusted age).

RSV is so serious that our insurance companies have (tentatively) approved Jake for a second year of receiving the Synagis shot. Synagis is not a vaccine for RSV but rather it contains the antibodies to help fight off RSV. The shot costs upwards of $1,000 each time it is administered. Jake will get a shot every 28 days for 6 months or more. As we all know too well, insurance companies do not spend thousands of dollars unless they have quite a bit of evidence that shows it's cheaper for them to spend the money now than to spend it later. Translation: BCBS and Cigna are pretty sure that $6,000+ in shots is cheaper than Jake getting RSV.

So with all that said, we are asking that if you think you may be at our home this fall/winter, that you:
1. Get a seasonal flu shot.
2. Get an H1N1 flu shot if you can.
3. Refrain from coming over if you (a) are sick, or (b) were sick and have not been symptom-free for at least 5 days, or (c) live with someone who is sick, or (d) have been in close contact with someone who is sick.
4. When you arrive, please wash your hands and use hand sanitizer liberally (anyone who has been here knows that Jeff will insure this happens :)).

Please know that we don't mean to offend anyone, but we wanted to provide an explanation as to why we're so paranoid (still). Trust us - we would like nothing better than to not have to post messages like this, but that's not our reality. Thank you all for understanding! Stay healthy, and enjoy some Jake photos!

Running through the pumpkin patch (at least trying to)