maltesefamily
Member
I'l like to share my ordeal wth u n hopefully get some advice n support...I have a 15 mth old daughter, and currently pregnant wth my 2nd child (15 wks).
I brought my 15 mth old daughter to cck polyclinic for her scheduled MMR jab on 27th oct 07. somehow, d jab was not taken, due to that my daughter was not introduced to egg white protein. I thus proceeded to enquire if my daughter can take d chickenpox vaccination. D nurse on duty said,"Can, no problem." I did stress on the point that I am pregnant, and that I have not contracted chickenpox before. I even asked the nurse if I will be affected, given that i'm pregnant.
The nurse's reply was a positive yes, and it's safe for my daughter to take d jab. I was then ushered to another room wth my daughter for d jab. Another nurse, who's giving d jab, also reassured me that it's safe and there will not be any repercussions.
3 days later, on 30th oct 07, my daughter started to have high fever and rashes. The rashes got so bad to a point that it became a big red patch on her chest to her tummy and face and all over. At one point, my daughter's fever shot to 43 degrees. My hubby n I brought her to the GP near our place, n the GP said that the rash n fever are reaction from the chickenpox jab. I myself had fever as well from 2nd nov 07. Both the fever n rash subsided within the next few days and my daughter recovered on 5th nov 07.
On 6th nov 07, I discovered I had a blister on my neck. And to add to the on-off fever that i'm having, I went to the in-house doctor at work. The in-house doctor suspected that I may have contracted chickenpox. He gave me 2 days MC. At home that nite, I discovered I had a few other blisters. I went down to my GP, n he confirmed it's chickenpox. Due to the fact that I’m in the early stage of my 2nd trimester, I may transmit the virus to my foetus. Limb deformities, skin scarring, eye disorders and brain damage are all the possibilities that may infect my foetus. There is also an increased risk of stillbirth, abortion, prematurity and low birth weight. My baby may also develop shingles during early childhood.
My GP contacted me the following day on 7th Nov 07 and told me that my case was rare, but possible that I have contracted chickenpox from my daughter.
My hubby and I decided to return to cck polyclinic on 9th Nov 07, to seek an explanation. We managed to see the Deputy Head Dr Tan Kim Kiat after some time and told him the whole story. Initially, he persisted that it was safe for my daughter to take the jab, even I was pregnant. Unbelievable! After showing him a copy of printout from my GP fr CDC, he then acknowledged that thou rare, it is possible that I can be infected with chickenpox fr my daughter. My hubby and I insisted that we be arranged to go for a scan on my foetus. Our main concern at that time was whether the polyclinic will take responsibility over the incident. Dr Tan made arrangements for the scan, but only on the following week. He stated that special arrangements had to be made, reason due that I have chickenpox. He did say, however that we could admit to the A&E at NUH to confirm that I really was infected with chickenpox. During all of which, my hubby and I have to bear all charges.
We reached NUH A&E at around 1330H, I got admitted into the isolation room whereas my hubby waited at the waiting area. I waited for hours to be seen by an in-house doctor, and even then I was told that I would not be scanned as special arrangements had to be made to evacuate the whole level if it were so. Ultimately, I only had a blood test, and an ultrasound to determine that my foetus is still alive. We left NUH at around 1830H, with total bill of close to $300.
My hubby and I are really upset and frustrated over the whole incident, where I was put through the trauma unnecessarily. Thou my case is rare, but it was documented in case studies found on the net that it may happen, that a person taken the chickenpox vaccine to infect to someone else under close proximity. Dangerous for pregnant women like myself. And to think that our local medical establishment like the polyclinic can miss out something like that. Since the nurses there can be allowed to give the green light for an injection to be taken, they should be equipped with the knowledge as well. If they were to tell me that there might be a possibility that I may contract chickenpox from my daughter at that time, anybody in the right mind would have given it a pass. I would definitely not risk my foetus then. Up till now, we have yet to receive an apology from cck polyclinic. There is a possibility that my foetus be infected, or the side-effects could come even after birth. I am really traumatised over the fact that I may have to make a decision on whether to keep the baby, or abort…
I thank you for reading my story, and I badly need all the advice and support I can get.
I brought my 15 mth old daughter to cck polyclinic for her scheduled MMR jab on 27th oct 07. somehow, d jab was not taken, due to that my daughter was not introduced to egg white protein. I thus proceeded to enquire if my daughter can take d chickenpox vaccination. D nurse on duty said,"Can, no problem." I did stress on the point that I am pregnant, and that I have not contracted chickenpox before. I even asked the nurse if I will be affected, given that i'm pregnant.
The nurse's reply was a positive yes, and it's safe for my daughter to take d jab. I was then ushered to another room wth my daughter for d jab. Another nurse, who's giving d jab, also reassured me that it's safe and there will not be any repercussions.
3 days later, on 30th oct 07, my daughter started to have high fever and rashes. The rashes got so bad to a point that it became a big red patch on her chest to her tummy and face and all over. At one point, my daughter's fever shot to 43 degrees. My hubby n I brought her to the GP near our place, n the GP said that the rash n fever are reaction from the chickenpox jab. I myself had fever as well from 2nd nov 07. Both the fever n rash subsided within the next few days and my daughter recovered on 5th nov 07.
On 6th nov 07, I discovered I had a blister on my neck. And to add to the on-off fever that i'm having, I went to the in-house doctor at work. The in-house doctor suspected that I may have contracted chickenpox. He gave me 2 days MC. At home that nite, I discovered I had a few other blisters. I went down to my GP, n he confirmed it's chickenpox. Due to the fact that I’m in the early stage of my 2nd trimester, I may transmit the virus to my foetus. Limb deformities, skin scarring, eye disorders and brain damage are all the possibilities that may infect my foetus. There is also an increased risk of stillbirth, abortion, prematurity and low birth weight. My baby may also develop shingles during early childhood.
My GP contacted me the following day on 7th Nov 07 and told me that my case was rare, but possible that I have contracted chickenpox from my daughter.
My hubby and I decided to return to cck polyclinic on 9th Nov 07, to seek an explanation. We managed to see the Deputy Head Dr Tan Kim Kiat after some time and told him the whole story. Initially, he persisted that it was safe for my daughter to take the jab, even I was pregnant. Unbelievable! After showing him a copy of printout from my GP fr CDC, he then acknowledged that thou rare, it is possible that I can be infected with chickenpox fr my daughter. My hubby and I insisted that we be arranged to go for a scan on my foetus. Our main concern at that time was whether the polyclinic will take responsibility over the incident. Dr Tan made arrangements for the scan, but only on the following week. He stated that special arrangements had to be made, reason due that I have chickenpox. He did say, however that we could admit to the A&E at NUH to confirm that I really was infected with chickenpox. During all of which, my hubby and I have to bear all charges.
We reached NUH A&E at around 1330H, I got admitted into the isolation room whereas my hubby waited at the waiting area. I waited for hours to be seen by an in-house doctor, and even then I was told that I would not be scanned as special arrangements had to be made to evacuate the whole level if it were so. Ultimately, I only had a blood test, and an ultrasound to determine that my foetus is still alive. We left NUH at around 1830H, with total bill of close to $300.
My hubby and I are really upset and frustrated over the whole incident, where I was put through the trauma unnecessarily. Thou my case is rare, but it was documented in case studies found on the net that it may happen, that a person taken the chickenpox vaccine to infect to someone else under close proximity. Dangerous for pregnant women like myself. And to think that our local medical establishment like the polyclinic can miss out something like that. Since the nurses there can be allowed to give the green light for an injection to be taken, they should be equipped with the knowledge as well. If they were to tell me that there might be a possibility that I may contract chickenpox from my daughter at that time, anybody in the right mind would have given it a pass. I would definitely not risk my foetus then. Up till now, we have yet to receive an apology from cck polyclinic. There is a possibility that my foetus be infected, or the side-effects could come even after birth. I am really traumatised over the fact that I may have to make a decision on whether to keep the baby, or abort…
I thank you for reading my story, and I badly need all the advice and support I can get.
