.With My Son, Immunization and Suspension.

The other day I received a phone call from my son’s school. It was 9.30am; I had just dropped him off and got myself ready to attend class. I missed the phone call actually but while listening to the voicemail I received an email as well: ” Call school immediately” and a phone extension. So I called to find out that my son had been suspended from school since his immunization record is not up to date according to Health Canada who report to the schools on a daily basis apparently.

So, my son has all the vaccinations he needs; he even has more (yellow fever and whatnot and everything else triple). His vaccination record has been submitted to Health Canada and his school when I signed him up initially in February 2017 with dates and everything that was necessary included. I have not received a notification recently to contact Health Canada or update any vaccination records which was weird. After I hung up the phone with Joel’s school I tried to contact Health Canada to explain that he has all his vaccinations and that this must be a mistake since he has his International vaccination booklet up to date. When I initially called, I was caller number 29 placed on hold but I knew I had to “pick up my son immediately”. I decided to pick him up, bring all the sufficient paperwork, talk to the school’s principal and get everything sorted out.

This all did not work out either. I had been told, “Sorry, Mam, there is nothing we can do if Health Canada does not send the report saying that your son has all the immunizations” even though I showed her the  International Vaccination Booklet.

What to do at this point? It was 10 am and my class has started. Damn! I decided to calm down and have a cup of “soy latte” (Ryan) first. Joel tagged along and waited patiently for his cake pop and apple juice asking me, “Mommy, what did I do wrong so you had to pick me up?” Me: “Nothing darling, just eat your cake pop and chill.”

I wiped his mouth that was covered in chocolate, finished my soy latte and we drove to Health Canada to “sort things out”. I paid $4 (for ONE hour!) for parking on a public street in front of the Federal Health Canada building which added to my overall discomfort. I walked up to the building to find the door locked but there was a phone attached next to the entrance. I picked it up and dialed the number on the display to find out that the security guard did not know who to connect me with but “he can take down my name and number and someone will get back to you for sure in a couple of days”. This was the point when I somewhat lost it a tiny bit. I walked down the stairs and screamed while some guy walking by and told me, “Yeah, this is what the system does to you. I have been there, Miss.” At least he did not call me Mam which I hate.

Petit Joel and I drove to my school and he sat nicely and quietly next to me staring at his iPad while I learned about muscles, bones, and tissues. Unfortunately,  not those I desperately needed to blow my nose and wipe away the tears while realizing how little a human being counts. I had been reminded again that common sense is not that common after all and the human factor won’t be taken into consideration most of the time when I told the principal at Joel’s school that I cannot take 5-10 business days off to keep my son out of school and not be able to go to work. She responded: “I am sorry, Mrs. Henry, there is nothing I can do!” (Why not Miss?)  Again, the craziest part is, that I even showed her his immunization booklet with all his immunizations up to date.

The school was closed today (Friday) and will be closed on Monday (Family Day, duh!) as well. I hope I can sort this all out by Monday so he can attend school again on Tuesday. If not, he has to come to school with me which is sort of annoying but manageable since my professors/doctors allow him to be there if he is quiet.

Oh, this little boy I love him so much. Be still my heart. To see him go off to school every morning, watching him go away and play with his friends is bittersweet and awesome at the same time. I usually turn around to look for him one more time after I dropped him off to see what he is up to. Other kids will be sweet, rough, teasing, hurt feelings and are nice. All these emotions. My son is going through a lot every day and he is usually exhausted when I pick him up in the afternoon but I always make sure that he knows that whenever he walks in the door every day, that home is the most comforting place for him to be. And I try to keep him out of and away from these useless stressors like vaccination troubles. Mindfulness allows me to bottle up these special moments and making its magic last longer after the moment has ended but by acknowledging how I feel in the moment. #HealthCanada



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