Vaccines, The Aunt I Never Met, And An Allergy Shot

Doris May Baker – April 29, 1924 – September 1927. She died of tuberculosis.

Doris was my father’s older sister. He was born in 1925, less than 2 years before she died. There are only a couple photos of her that I know of.

My Father and his sister, Doris 1927

I look at the two photos of Doris and I wonder what kind of person she would have grown up to be? Was she a happy kid? What games did she like to play? What kind of an older sister would she have been to my father, and what kind of aunt would she have been to us?

It’s a shame we will never know the answers to any of these questions.

She was never talked about, probably because she died so young. After she died my father was an only child until the birth of his brother, Bob, 8 years later, in 1933. From stories I have heard and pieced together, my Grandmother dotted on my father for those years before Bob was born. Then Bob was the baby in the family and got all the attention.

The tuberculosis vaccine was first used on humans in 1921, I’m not sure when its use was wide spread but I wonder, if my grandmother had the option to have her vaccinated, would she? I’d like to think so. If you have the opportunity to save a family member with a vaccine, wouldn’t you?

This is something I don’t understand with all of these anti-vaccine people.

Are there side effects with vaccines? Certainly. Some are probably worse than others. Everyone is different when it comes to tolerance. I’m on various medications for my own health issues and I’m grateful for the medications, without them I probably wouldn’t be here.

Do I worry about side effects? Of course. But the side effects have never outweighed the benefits of the medications that I take.

Does that mean I have never suffered from any side effects? No. I have.

Years ago I was doing allergy shots. I had watched a video presentation the clinic had put together of possible side effects to the allergy shots. I had just started on the shots. They were slowly building up to the amounts they were ultimately going to give me. I was getting the shots twice a week, until a Friday in 1995.

I went in for my shot. Waited the 20 minutes afterwards to make sure everything was okay, and then headed home. I have had a ton of shots over the years but this one was different. It hurt in a way the others didn’t.

By the time I arrived home I was hot, sweaty, and having trouble breathing. Seeing me, my wife drove me straight to the closest ER. By the time I arrived I was in a world of hurt. All of my symptoms were going through the roof. I remember telling the receptionist that I had just had an allergy shot and I wasn’t feeling good.

They rushed me into the ER so fast. My body was going into anaphylactic shock. If you want more details you can watch my short film, Friday Night.


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Needless to say I survived the whole ordeal a little worse for the wear and tear. I also never got another allergy shot.

That being said, I’ve had all of my Covid shots/boosters and every year I get flu shots and whatever else my doctor recommends. I still trust science.

Which brings me back to Doris.

If you ask my father he would tell you that his younger brother Bob was definitely spoiled. They were never close although my father often helped his brother when he screwed up.

My father always felt he never did enough to help his mother. And yet, he dropped out of Linfield and transferred to Lewis and Clark College to help support the family when his father died. When his mother was diagnosed with cancer she moved in with us and he and my mother took care of her and paid all her hospital bills when she passed away.

And still, he worried that he let her down. Did he feel some sort of guilt about Doris dying? Even if he was only 2 years old? He’s been gone since 2019, so we’ll never know.

If the tuberculosis vaccine had been available to her, I wonder how all of our lives might have been different if Doris had lived?

My Grandmother, Dad, and Doris around 1925

I know I will continue to get all of my shots, vaccines, and boosters, and insist my daughter and granddaughter do the same. I know what amazing people they are and will continue to be.

It’s a shame Doris never had that chance.

Oh yeah, and Fuck RFK Jr. and his whole anti-vaccine stance. I trust science a lot more than I will ever trust him or his followers.

Don’t Let The Bastards Get To You!

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You’ll Change – 33 Years Later