No matter what you may believe about vaccines, can we all agree that attacking grieving parents is awful?
Like, in what world is it okay to call the mother of a dead child the C-word? In what world is it okay to accuse her of faking the flu excuse in order to hide that she murdered her baby?
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But that’s exactly the sort of messages anti-vaxxers have been sending Jill Promoli since she lost her son three years ago.
In 2014, Jill, her husband Craig, and their daughter Isla welcomed twin boys Jude and Thomas into their Toronto-area family.
In May 2016, Jude died.
Both boys had been feeling unwell that day.
Their older sister had been sick earlier in the week and though she had recovered, her brothers seemed to have caught it.
Jill spent the day with them, giving them lots of fluids and Jude needed a Tylenol to help with a mild fever. The day went smoothly and the boys settled down for their afternoon nap.
But when it was time to wake them up, Jude was unresponsive.
Because Thomas’ sickness had involved vomiting, doctors first thought that aspiration had been Jude’s cause of death, but tests came up negative.
It wasn’t until more than three months later that the autopsy revealed the cause: Influenza B.
The whole family had gotten their flu shots that year, but he’d caught a strain that wasn’t in the mix.
Flu shots only include the most likely strains for that year, and low vaccination rates can allow the quickly-mutating virus to evolve throughout the flu season, leaving even those who did vaccinate more vulnerable.
Once they learned the cause, Jill knew that she needed to do something.
The family launched an awareness campaign called “For Jude For Everyone.” They hope that if they can get more people to vaccinate, then there will be fewer stories like Jude’s.
Almost immediately after she shared Jude’s story and her push for vaccines, anti-vaxxers began attacking her.
She told CNN that she was called names, accused of trying to cover-up the fact that Jude died at her hand, or even that she was promoting vaccinations specifically so that more kids would die from them.
She believes that anti-vaxxers specifically target parents like her.
They’re trying to silence the stories of children who died from vaccine-preventable illnesses, since it hurts their own message.
“I know that these people are really trying to hurt me, and I understand that the reason they’re doing it is because they want me to stop.”
So Jill’s not letting them stop her, even if it means she needs a thick skin.
“It caught me off guard in its cruelty. What kind of a person does this?”
It’s not just about her grief.
In a post a year after Jude’s death, Jill shared a story of Thomas’ terrified reaction to the chance he might be sick. His twin brother had died next to him while he slept.
No child should have to endure that.
So Jill’s taking her message to the highest levels she can.
In November 2018, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared a photo of getting his flu shot and included the #ForJudeForEveryone hashtag.
No matter how many hundreds of hateful messages she receives, she’s not going to stop.
She said:
“The work that we’re doing might mean that somebody else doesn’t have to go plan a funeral for their toddler, and that is everything.
h/t: CNN
