When Evan and Lisa Johnson of Yorkton were given the news that one of their twins, Mercer, was going to be born with a congenital heart defect known as Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome, they did everything they could to prepare themselves. They knew they had a long road ahead and they vowed to do everything in their power to protect her.
After returning home from Mercer’s first heart surgery, normalizing their life was a struggle. Mercer was spending a lot of her energy just healing her body and growing; they feared exposing her to a virus would be too much for her fragile immune system to handle. For her protection, the Johnsons contacted close friends and family asking them to be up-to-date on their vaccines, influenza vaccine, and in general good health before they came to visit. Everyone has done what they can to help keep Mercer safe.
“Evan and I, and our daughters Aubrey, Scottie and Mercer have all been immunized to help stay protected as much as possible. However, we are nervous going into this cold and flu season,” said Lisa Johnson. “We were very fortunate and thankful for the communities support as Mercer went for her first two heart surgeries. Now we ask for the community to help Mercer again, but in a whole new way. It takes the whole community being up-to-date on vaccinations to keep everyone safe.”
Vaccinations are not only for your own health and safety; they are for the health and safety of all the people around you during the influenza season. The consequences of getting influenza can be severe for the elderly, the immune-compromised, pregnant women and the very young, including babies who cannot receive the influenza immunization until after six months of age. By immunizing the whole family, the chance of exposure to influenza is reduced for the most vulnerable members of our community.
“The influenza virus is very contagious and can spread quickly but the number of people infected can be reduced substantially when people get the vaccine,” stresses Medical Health Officer, Dr. Ashok Chhetri. “Protect yourself and your loved ones by making plans for yourself and family members to be immunized as early as possible in the season.”
Immunization clinics began on October 23, 2017, and will run until the end of March 2018. The influenza vaccine is free in Saskatchewan and is recommended for all residents who are six months and older. When attending the clinics, people are encouraged to wear a short sleeved shirt and will need their Saskatchewan Health Card.
Clinics in your community can be found on our website www.sunrisehealthregion.sk.ca or by calling Healthline at 811. Daily clinic locations will be posted on our Facebook page “Sunrise Health Region”, on Twitter @SunriseRegion and are recorded on the Sunrise Daily Information Update Line, which can be called toll-free at 1-866-800-5510.
