1/15 I am pretty sick of reading about Covid. I am pretty sick of advocating about Covid. I am a fu@ktonne of tired. But today is my daughters 13th birthday. So I have been up making her pancakes. Not out of solidarity, out of love.
2/15 She was going to see Hamilton for her birthday with her two closest friends. It has been planned for a year. I had to cancel it. She did not bat an eyelid. Did not whinge. She did not say it was unfair.
3/15 Her gorgeous girl friends all consoled her by saying it is so much better to not go. They are all downstairs watching it on Disney Chanel.
4/15 My daughter is severely immunocompromised and at risk because she does not mount an immune response to vaccines - she has been going to the children's hospital 5 hours away from us for care since she was tiny.
5/15 When she has an exposure to chicken pox it is off to the hospital for VariZIG (varicella zoster immune globulin). Thankfully that is rare due to vaccination.
She is hospitalised from the flu for two weeks.
She is hospitalised from the flu for two weeks.
6/15 It can take over 6 weeks and 3 courses of antibiotics to clear a wet cough. She takes more medications a day than your grandmother.
She is recognised as clinically vulnerable - even by the Fed Govt who seem to no longer give a fu@k about much.
She is recognised as clinically vulnerable - even by the Fed Govt who seem to no longer give a fu@k about much.
7/15 However, for her school is, and will continue to be the Wild West.
Her school does not understand aerosol transmission. They rejected offers of HEPA filters to keep her safe. They did not want to use my aranet4's to audit or monitor the air so we could know it was safe.
Her school does not understand aerosol transmission. They rejected offers of HEPA filters to keep her safe. They did not want to use my aranet4's to audit or monitor the air so we could know it was safe.
8/15 I had to fight for her to sit next to the open door or window. They thought I was nuts and probably still do.
9/15 But sitting her next to an open window or door cost them nothing (and they could say they did something) so they agreed - I think to silence me as much as anything (and as most of you probably know I can be pretty persistent).
10/15 The school put the responsibility back onto her to assess if each situation at school was safe in terms of air quality for her when she was still 11 years old. With no tools to do so. And essentially zero support.
11/15 The State Education Departments have zero plan for kids like her. Yep, read that again. ZERO. So what you think, we can't stop living just because of one kid... But it is not just one kid. It is thousands of kids who are clinically vulnerable and they all matter.
12/15 Remember when you felt so sorry for your colleague who's kid got cancer, leukaemia, transplants, diagnosed with diabetes or have a kid with cystic fibrosis?
13/15 "I care" I hear you think, "I pitched in for a 'go fund me' to help them out", because you could feel their despair and panic and were so relieved it was not your kid.
14/15 Well how about you think about the kids who are immunocompromised, have cancer, leukaemia, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, are in need of transplants, the next time you read opinions that kids will be fine, have a think about those for whom this does not ring true. They matter.
15/15 This is her. She matters. Every Child Matters.
https://twitter.com/PMGPSC/status/1422676289580724226?s=20
Here is a piece of cake from today for each of you and your kind comments. Miss 13 was so touched by your kindness.
And Denise, you are a star.
And Denise, you are a star.
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