WARNING: If you are squeamish about needles, look away! These pictures make my arms throb when I look at them!
Yesterday was the big day…for vaccines, I mean! Blaise took me up the Visiting Nurse Service in Indy, where the torture-fest went down. Originally, I was going to split it up into two separate appointments, but then I realized I would have to have sore arms twice instead of just getting it all over with one time. So, I went ahead with six vaccinations yesterday. I have to say, the staff at VNS were all so kind. If you are going to be travelling and need your vaccines, I would highly recommend that you go there!
When we first arrived, I had to fill out and sign a mound of paperwork, and then it was on to the real fun! MaraJo was my nurse, and she was phenomenal! She gave me a sucker to begin with so that I would have something to distract me, and she was very cheerful and sweet the entire time.
Blaise was my wonderful photographer for the event…yep, I’m that big of a nerd! MaraJo said she had never had anyone take pictures of their immunizations. Like I said, I’m a nerd! This is me pre-shots…
I am not sure which order I received each particular vaccine, but here were the first two…
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MaraJo informed me of this one, so I know that it was the Meningococcal (bacterial meningitis). It really hurt!!!
The torture for the left arm was over, and it was on to the right arm…
The whole thing hurt, but it didn’t kill me…and look, I’m still smiling!
I was not being sarcastic…MaraJo really was fantastic! It was certainly not going to be pain-free, but she is really good at her job! After the vaccination portion was finished, we sat down and went over a plethora of healthy travel information. She had some really great tips on staying healthy, and she made sure to fill me in on other ickies that there are no vaccines for such as dengue fever, traveler’s diarrhea, and trypanosomiasis to name a few. I do feel much more prepared for my travels abroad, and I know that while some things are unpreventable, there are ways to reduce my risks (such as laundering clothes in a chemical that repels disease-carrying flies and mosquitoes, applying sunscreen and bugspray in the proper order, and knowing which foods to eat and what to avoid).
Here’s MaraJo and I…
For those of you who are interested, I did play it safe and got almost all of the recommended vaccinations. I did not get either flu vaccine (seasonal or H1N1) or the rabies vaccine (because if I get bitten, I have to get more shots anyway). The Yellow Fever vaccine is required for entry into Sudan, and the others are prevalent in the area, so I got them, too. Here’s what I ended up getting yesterday: typhoid, hepatitis A, polio, tetanus, diptheria, pertussis (tdap), meningococcal, and yellow fever.
I will say this: $500, a sore arm, and a night and following day of feeling really crummy later…I am that much closer and more excited about going to Sudan this summer! Crazy? I think so!!!