Disneyland has always been a special place for me and my husband, Chris.
We got married there and we announced both of our pregnancies there.
For us, a trip to Disneyland is kind of like going to the local park for other people.
Image courtesy of the writer
During my pregnancy with my son Mobius, I regularly went to Disneyland and walked the park.
So it felt inevitable that we would take him there after he was born.
I felt like we were doing everything within reason to keep him safe.
Once Mobius had his two-month shots, we decided to take him to Disneyland.
But I also didnt think that was something we needed to worry about.
At the time I was more concerned with things like whooping cough than anything.
And Mobius loved the park.
He looked at the lights and we took family photos.
We loved getting to introduce him to a place that held so much meaning for our family.
Measles outbreaks were in the news about two weeks before our visit, including measles cases linked to Disneyland.
There was technically a measles risk to take Mobius even to the local supermarket, I remember being told.
Unfortunately he was still exposed to measles during our visitwe just didnt know it yet.
Two weeks later Mobius became sick for the first time ever.
On February 1, 2015, I reached for him in the morning and noticed he felt really warm.
Mobius had a bunch of spots there.
This was the first time he was sick, after all.
It couldnt be measles…could it?
He had a fever of 102 degrees Fahrenheit, so I called the pediatricians office.
They asked us not to come in, just in case Mobiusdidhave measles.
So I did that while trying to keep him comfortable.
Im a registered nurse, but I still felt nervous.
Mobiuss eyes started bothering him and he kept rubbing them.
He also developed a cough that sounded like a bad smokers hack.
His spots were starting to get worse.
Chris and I called our local ER at that point.
They went full hazmat on us and quarantined us and Mobius as soon as we arrived.
This was 2015 after all.
It seemed to me like none of the doctors were convinced that the test results would come back positive.
We were eventually sent home and quarantined while we waited for the results.
Since I had proof that I was vaccinated against measles, I was able to come and go.
Chris couldnt find proof of his vaccination, so he and Mobius were officially quarantined at home.
I was stunned and I had a mixed reaction to the news.
In a way I was glad that we knew what was wrong with my baby.
But I also was worried about what that meant for him.
I didnt know you coulddie from it, and I wasnt fully aware of all of the possible complications.
There were 667 measles cases in 2014, but part of that was due to the Disneyland outbreak.
Eventually Mobius started getting better.
His spots got worse for two or three days and then started to get better.
I was still stunned at this point.
How had this happened to us?
I learned about subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) around this time, which terrified me.
Ive spent four years being on edge, worrying about SSPE.
Mobius is about to start kindergarten, and he doesnt seem to have any lingering side effects from measles.
In fact hes a brilliant kid, and hes so excited to start school.
But with two kids its tough.
There are doctors appointments to go to and groceries that need to be bought.
When Mobius contracted measles I didnt understand that anti-vax sentiments were still such a thing.
I was in my safe little bubble and didnt realize that other people still felt this way.
Now Ive gone back and forth between being angry and sad about that.
I ended up testifying for a bill calledSB-277that was passed in 2015 to get rid of personal-beliefvaccine exemptionsin California.
That was a wake-up call.
Im thankful that my son seems to be okay and is thriving, even.
But I know thats not the case for everyoneand I still worry about what could happen in the future.
This story is part of a larger package called Vaccines Save Lives.
you could find the rest of the packagehere.
