Vulnerable Child Syndrome

NoCrumping · Feb 24, 2005

I'm doing a paper for my growth and development class that is going to be focusing on VCS, anyone have any favorite resources or anecdotes they could add? Or ways to help try and avoid VCS in the discharging babe?
Thanks :)

Sorry, no favorite resources, but an anecdote. I did private duty for this child. She actually was a vulnerable child,to some extent, but her twin, was not. They were 28 wk triplets, one had anencephaly,(died, obviously), one had 1 lung and many cardiac defects (my pt.) the other, was fine. No vent, no 02, d/c'd by due date. Their parents, to this day, will not let them leave the house or breath any outside air once September comes. And then once June 16 comes (no idea why this date), they are allowed to go outside, in the yard only. They just turned 4.They simply refuse to believe that fresh air would be good for them, among the other benefits of NOT beiing trapped in a house for all those months.They will not believe that you cant catch a cold by air. The parents are afraid that they will "catch" something. These parents have their own parents there with them all day ( the dad does work) and they are harrassed every 5 minutes to sanitize, by washing at the sink, and with the alcohol gel. If anyone dare sneezes due to allergies, a cold, anything at all, they are banned from the house for a few weeks "just to be on the safe side". If it is the actual parents who sneeze or any other symptom, they wear surgical masks AND gloves for a few weeks. "Just to be on the safe side". They have signs outside both of the doors to their house saying "Wash hands when entering house and before touching babies" and another saying " If you are sick, do not come in" I can go on and on with the things these people think and actually do and say.............. I am not there any longer, but I have a lifetime of "memories". I actually think it has a lil to do with the fact that the mom and dad seem to be a little, well, limited, even thought this was never verified. And, they are in complete denial about the girl I was there for. She was in the hospital for the first 9 months of her life, intubated,had major brain injury from lack of 02, never bottle fed, seizures, etc...eventually came the CP dx, and they still believe that she will "catch up" , it will just take her longer. And, they want nothing to do with any healthcare professional who gives them a hint otherwise. :crying2: They seem to be holding on to bits of information and exaggerating it. (like in the early months after being d/c'd, to keep them away from crowds, cold weather, sick people, etc... I know precautions are warranted til the 2nd birthday for preemies.....but not their actions.) I think the mom is actually contesting the school board, saying, that she ( the healthy girl, not my pt) cant enter kindergarten next year because she will get sick, as she has NEVER been around another child besides her sister before ( who has severe CP ). She doesnt want to home school, just wants permission for her to enter kindergarten at age 7, as she believes this will be safe age for her to be around other kids.........She still has a bottle, the 60 ml ones from the NICU, is still on soft food from a jar, jello, cereal, and they break cheerios in three before she tries to snack on them. Very sad. I know this an old thread. Good luck with your paper... I dont know if you turned it in or not?

LilPeanut, MSN, RN, NP · Feb 25, 2005

Wow! What a story!

We've not quite turned it in yet, but we're hopefully just finalizing it now. That's so sad for the typical girl - she's being stunted from experiencing so much. Like you said, especially when they are fresh home from the hospital, especially during winter, be paranoid about RSV and such, take precautions, but you actually harm their immune system by never letting it work (in a healthy child of course, an immune compromised child is a whole 'nother story :) )

I hope the typical twin gets to experience life outside of her mother's paranoia someday. Thanks for the response