This post is inspired by Shot@Life, an initiative of the United Nations Foundation that educates, connects and empowers the championing of vaccines as one of the most cost-effective ways to save the lives of children in developing countries.
In 2006 I laid on the floor of my bedroom and cried in the unbearable fear of knowing my child had cancer. I sobbed for her body and I wept for my family. I was devastated to hear these words used in association with my baby. I cries for a thousand reasons.
I never cried because my child wouldn’t get medicine.
It took her hair. It made her vomit. It saved her life.
Three years out of chemotherapy, starting third grade, that same child has been blessed by the healing that medicine gave her.
What if I’d cried because I’d know there was no medicine option?
Do you even realize that pneumonia and diarrhea are the two biggest killers of children under five. These two illnesses make up 1/3 of of childhood deaths worldwide.
Why is this your fault? It’s not.
Is it your responsibility? Maybe.
Can you do something simple to help a child in need? YES!!
For EVERY COMMENT LEFT HERE, $20 WILL BE DONATED TO SHOT@LIFE.
What does that mean?
$20 is is a night at the movies with popcorn. $20 is a novel and cup of coffee at your favorite bookstore.
$20 is what it costs for one child to receive life-saving vaccines: measles, pneumonia, diarrhea and polio; preventable diseases like these take the life of a child every 20 seconds.
You leave a comment = $20 is donated to vaccinate a child
Du
ring Shot@Life’s Blogust: Blog Relay for Good, 31 bloggers, one each day in August, are writing about people from our communities who have inspired us. Every comment on this post and the 30 other posts will be matched with a $20 donation (up to a maximum of $200,000). That’s 10,000 comments. And 10,000 children. $20 is what it costs to give one child four life-saving vaccines to help protect them against measles, pneumonia, diarrhea and polio. A child dies every 20 seconds from a vaccine preventable disease. We can help stop this.
I’m supposed to talk about a person who inspired me through comments. It’s impossible to choose just one. The friends and family who have left comments during Peyton’s cancer, then through my strokes and are following the recovery are my lifeline. Their words kept me sane some days.
Some days those words were the only positives I heard. They were the support Peter needed.
Maybe it’s a cheat but it’s true. EVERY COMMENT has been important.
I don’t have a comment-heavy blog but I’m asking readers to stop lurking and give these children the vaccines they so badly need. You can give by leaving your comment and spreading the word.
In this blog relay, I took the baton from Elena Sonnino who posted on Tuesday and I will pass it on to Liz Thompson who will post on Thursday. Both lovely ladies have so much heart for this mission and with their help and your comment we’re going to make that goal.
THANKS!
You can learn more about Shot@Life by joining their email list, following them on twitter or liking them on Facebook.
thank you for donating. so many simple ways to help the world. wish i could do more. i’m trying to put my positive energy into the world.
please ‘like’ my fb page if you’re so inclined. thank you!
https://www.facebook.com/SharingOurLight
thank you. this is a wonderful campaign.
What an amazing cause!! I will be spreading the word for sure.
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Thank you for sharing your personal story. I love being involved in this incredible cause.
You are doing a really good thing here. Every little bit helps and every person can do a little bit. A problem like the lack of vaccines and medical supplies is too big of a problem for one person to solve but the more people that become aware, get involved, donate and even just share the information will make a difference! Anissa, I find YOU inspiring in so many ways! Not the least of which is your new tagline: Wheelchairs are the new black. I lurve it and you!
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Do you realize how angry you’re making Jenny McCarthy? I don’t know if this is safe.
Thank you for the chance to help.
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Good luck
So happy this is happening.
This is so important. Thank you for being a part of it.
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I will gladly spread the word, what a great cause. And hugs to you and your family.
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amazing idea
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awesome
love it.
Hope this helps!!! Keep inspiring, Anissa!!
This is a wonderful cause.
So important. It’s shocking to know that things that are no big deal for us, kill children elsewhere.
Thanks for writing and inspiring! Hope we all could help more and this initiative SPREAD!
Thanks for all you do to give such worthwhile causes the exposure they need. I hope people take just a minute to help make a difference.
Thank you for participating in a valuable cause!
i think this is a great iniciative, i’m south american and i’m lucky to live in a country where every kid has to be vaccinated for free (and it’s mandatory, if you don’t have your vaccines you can’t attend school, and if your kid doesn’t attend school you don’t get paid your government grant -that is, for people who receive government grants-)
but I do know some other countries, specially in central America, don’t have these kind of laws, and it makes getting vaccinated a thousand times harder….
Whew. Finally found the computer cord and got internet installed JUST SO I COULD LEAVE THIS COMMENT!
Ok, fine. I went to Facebook first.
But THEN I came to leave this comment.
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Great job.. All the best for such a brilliant cause.. Keep up the good work
Forgot to say ……
That’s still totally just 1 Dawn
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Oh well, worth a try!
Great to see Peyton looking so well in this latest photo.
xx
thanks ……
to the donors – so…….
Thank you very much for saving lives!
You are such an inspiration in everything you do.
That’s right!! Support!!
Anissa, your blogs have made me laugh, smile, cry and pray. With everything your family has been through it’s amazing that you have the ability to smile, laugh and be as happy as you are! Thank you for being the amazing person that you are! Thank you for joining up to help pay for vaccinations. Makes you an even better person than you are!
Thanks for sharing your story and passion for this worthy cause
This is fantastic. I fully support immunisation.
) xxx
Good cause!
Doing my part hoping you will get the donation you need.
LOVE that there are that many comments in FB and on here. We have delurked!!! Love this blog and this topic. Immunizations save lives…
What a beautiful post. I love your heart.
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Awesome!!!
Yes! Every child deserves to live and if we have the power to make a difference we should.
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Happy to post support for such a great cause. Pray & these efforts may be further blessed!
To not comment is as Forest Gump would say, ” stupid is as stupid does”
Anissa, I think I can honestly say that this has been the heaviest-hitting of all the blogust entries I’ve read so far. It is amazing that simple words of encouragement gave you hope in such dark times, both in regards to yourself and your baby. It is an honor to leave a comment after such a heartfelt story, and I hope this brings similar hope to a child in need.
I can’t think of a single better reason to de-lurk!
May many kids be helped by this.
What a great venture!
What a fantastic initiative. I didn’t know before that the number one killers of children were illnesses that could be prevented. Amid all the controversy surrounding vaccines, I believe they are so important in protecting everyone, especially children. My son has his vaccines all up to date, and I plan on continuing this.
And here’s to hoping that some day there will be a vaccine for leukemia. XO
Fantastic cause!!
I love this venture – such a great purpose!
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This comment could save a child’s life. I am heady with joy at the thought!
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Great job. Social media at its best
Anything to help the kiddos!
I cannot imagine either one– crying because of a diagnosis so beyond my control or knowing the simple cure is just beyond my reach.
Open eyes. Humble heart.
Maggie S.´s last post…Ready? Oh-KAY!!!
Great post! Thanks for the opportunity to help.
Hooray for shots!
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SO easy to support this. I was not deathly ill, but my craniofacial repairs that I was guaranteed due to the medical care I got as an infant (and the child of a father in the military) in the US made my path clear from birth. I know many children around the world are not so lucky.
Good work, Anissa — and yay, Peyton!
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Deluding for such a great cause. Thank you for being a part of it and for sharing your story.
Woohoo! Love a great cause and love YOU Anissa!
Please give a child a shot at life from me!
What a fantastic cause!!! Go Anissa!
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If I could comment 10,000 times I would. (But they would all be the same comment, because I am lazy).
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You make me proud to be Asian Anissa. Love you, and thanks for sharing about this important initiative!
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You inspire me, friend. Peyton inspires me. This campaign inspires me.
Stop making me cry, already.
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“Hit me with your best shot! Fire away!!!”
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Love this.
Good work, Anissa! I think we need to be reminded sometimes how our lives here are so different- and privileged- from those who are suffering for lack of help so easily given. You wouldn’t think that in the 21st century, somebody’s baby could die of diarrhea, for crying out loud.
Thanks for reminding us to be grateful every day for what we have and to our part to help those who do not.
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Thank you for this post!
Go, Anissa, go!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your story and for taking a stand with such a great cause. We (I) take so much for granted. This was a wonderful reality check.
Thank you so much.
Nicole V. Scott´s last post…Happy Birthday Puddin
It makes me proud to be part of this blogging community when we all get together to save the lives of children!
Thank you so much for sharing your story and for taking a stand with such a wonderful cause. We (I) take so much for granted and this was a fantastic reality check.
Thank you.
Thank you for speaking about your daughter and for participating in Blogust with Shot@Life!
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These stats just break my heart. I am glad to see you and so many others doing what you can. Thank you!
I am a crier and I cried when I read this and I imagined myself for a small moment standing in your shoes and then standing in the place of the women with ‘shoeless’ feet who also has no access to simple medications. Thanks for being part of this movement. Enjoying what you all have to contribute. xx
Every 20 seconds. I am speechless, so I comment.
Thank you Anissa. <3
Thanks for making a huge difference to so many people, everyday…
Yes! My comment will, I hope, help!
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Oh, but wait—here’s another comment! Did you happen to notice that when I bent down to talk with you at the Come As You Are party, this woman seated behind me said, “Can you get your butt out of my face?” For the record: I was a good two feet away from her. Also, I have big parts, but my butt ain’t one of them. I just kind of glared at her. And then she said it AGAIN and I was all, “Excuse me, but this is ANISSA’S PARTY, and my butt isn’t going anywhere.”
So I was just thinking that if I can donate another $20 to this amazing cause by writing about butt woman, that would make me so happy. Voila!
Ellen S.´s last post…Inspiring wishes for the future from a man with autism
Thanks so much for posting this. What a great cause!
Hi Anissa -
Thanks for sharing such important information. I think of you and your family often! xoxo
This post gripped my heart! God Bless you and blessings to your girl. You’re right, when our kids are sick we don’t cry because there isn’t medication to heal them, we cry because we are scared. Love this and must share.
Thanks, Anissa, for hitting this issue home so powerfully. It’s true: We take for granted the lifesaving medicines we give our children. Today, I reordered a five-month supply of Max’s anti-seizure meds with the press of a few buttons on the phone. It is mind-boggling that children are dying of these preventable diseases. Together, we can help.
Ellen S.´s last post…Inspiring wishes for the future from a man with autism
Imagine having a sick child and not being able to get medicine. Heartbreaking.
Glad to help! Great work, Anissa.
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A great post with an amazing cause! Love it!
This is foundation wonderful, may God help those kids
This is such a wonderful initiative! Good luck!
Good Luck. Hope u hit your goal and more.
Thanks for the thoughtful insight. I appreciate the excellent medical care my children could count on, too, and you reminded me to be think again about those who don’t have it.
Some things are just important
This is such an amazing thing. Every child deserves to a to be able to live a healthy life and have access to the medications that will allow them to be more healthy.
Anissa,
I couldn’t agree with you more, every child, no matter where in the world they live deserves to live!! So honored to be a part of this amazing campaign with you!!
As a mother I understand even though I have never faced such a challenge. I was always made aware of the pain of others and the hopelessness and challenge that many under privileged children faced globally. My parents commented frequently about children who had no food to eat and had us watch every National Geographic special on TV that showed us how many other children lived and died. I applaud your courage and faith. Your daughter is a wonderful gift and blessing, as well as an inspiration. God Bless you and your family.
Such a great initative for a much needed cause!
This is amazing!
Thansk for posting, what a wonderful blog relay and a heart warming story from you. So glad your little girls is still with you.
Mich x
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I feel so fortunate every time I can take a sick boy to the doctor and get whatever is needed. I am so glad to have an opportunity to support vaccinations!
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I always read, rarely comment….but for this, absolutely!
It is our family habit to give vaccinations, or school books, from the WorldVision gift catalogue, to our children’s elementary school teachers, at the end of the year. Perhaps they would rather have a bottle of wine, but so far, none have been brave enough to tell me so!
I vaccinated newborn babies in Papua New Guinea from a caravan in 9 Mile settlement
as part of HOPE WORLDWIDE. It is fantastic that we can help people everywhere and have a positive impact on the future of poorer nations.