Tetanus

In the late 1950s, when I was an eighth or nineth grade student at Kingsford Park School in Oswego, New York, I suffered an accident.  My gym class was rushing to go outside on a beautiful spring afternoon.  

From the doorway of the building, there was a declining pathway that led to the large grassy field.  Next to the pathway was a short wall.

I decided to save time by jumping over the wall.  I didn't make it.  I fell forward and landed hands first onto a gravel area.

When I got to my feet, I noticed blood coming from one of my hands.  I headed to the school nurse's office hoping for a Band-Aid.  

However, the nurse advised me this wasn't a scrape, but a puncture wound.  I would therefore need a Tetanus shot.  I went home and my mother took me to a local pediatrician to administer the shot.

To the best of my knowledge, that was the last time I got a tetanus shot...until Friday, January 9, 2026.  On that day, I got the dtap vaccine (Diphtheria, Tetanus and whooping cough).  Why?

At the end of March, we will be travelling to Florida to meet my new granddaughter, Macy Bea Lasky, who was born yesterday, January 17, 2026.  In order to insure we didn't jeopardize her health, we were advised to have the dtap vaccine...and we did.

Welcome Macy!