For most Americans, measles is an unfamiliar threat. If you’re my age, you might remember getting it as a kid — the mild annoyance of lying in a dark room, protecting your sensitive eyes and trying not to scratch your rash.
But here’s a more recent measles story, one of many I experienced throughout my 45-year nursing career.
A 9-month-old boy lies unconscious on a ventilator in the intensive care unit (ICU). He had traveled with his family to Kenya to meet his grandparents. He is the youngest sibling and the only one who didn’t get his measles vaccines. Now his mom sits by his hospital bed, watching a machine breathe for her baby.