The Prep Work

October 7th:

Day 3 of my shots and it feels never ending... I am sweating profusely as we walk into the Apothecary office.  My arm is sore, the pain is my mind and I have to wait for the doctor to arrive.  MJ is with me and we go sit in the office where she tells us the side effects of Yellow Fever and what to expect when traveling.  The waiting is killing me... just get it over with already.  I move around in my chair anxiously, lift up my shirt, she pinches my tricep and that was it, nothing, no pain, just a little prick.  WOOO HOOO, we are both fully vaccinated and ready for our travels.  A small $600 later (each), I look at MJ and we telepathically decide travels to countries that require these vaccinations are in our future for the next 10-25 years to come.  We need to get mileage out of these OVER PRICED vaccinations.

 

October 6th:

My arm still hurts and yet I have 3 more shots to look forward to, super exciting day ahead of me... 3:30pm rolls around and we depart the office, Safeway - here we come!  We arrive and promptly provide our insurance cards.  After roughly 30 minutes of inputting the vaccinations and prescriptions into the system, the Pharmacist leans over the counter and states "yeah your insurance won't cover any of this."  We have no choice and wait patiently for the pharmacist to prepare our shots.

MJ goes first, she jams a needle into his arm, wiggles it around and then decides to push the injection button, she continues to do this with each injection.  Who does that?  It seems she was enjoying this torture.  I go next (2 shots is all I get, they won't accept my Yellow Fever prescription).  I don't like to watch so I turn my head.  MJ says without missing a beat, "OH MY, look at the size of that needle."  OH NO! Don't say that, I'm scared, she does the same to me... stab, wiggle, inject. What a day this has been.  We leave having vaccinations and medications in hand.

 

October 5th:

Oh dear... I wake in the middle of the night to pain. My arm is killing me.  Someone might as well have punched me directly in the left deltoid.  I attempt to pick up my arm and its just too tired to move. The pain unfortunately remains all day.  In the meantime MJ is researching our options for the additional vaccinations we need.  The appointment is set for tomorrow October 6th at Safeway in the University Village.

October 4th:

A trip to the doctor for my annual physical took place and with me, I brought a notepad with questions as usual. It seems I always forget the questions I have when sitting in that cold room with nothing but a strange over sized shirt looking thing with weird ties and you never know if the ties should go in the front or the back... just give us a warm blanket and when you're ready for the exam just reposition it! That's my two sense on it. Anyway... the doctor comes in and she asks the usual questions, I answer and she asks if I have any questions. One minute please, let me get them. I open the notepad and start with my travel questions. MJ and I are headed to Ethiopia and in my readings and on the CDC Website it sounds like I need a Yellow Fever prescription prior to leaving, also can I get a prescription for stomach issues should they come up and how about Meningitis? These questions leave a blank stare on her face and she responds with, it sounds like we need to reschedule your physical and we can make this a "travel consultation." I'm sorry, I don't seem to understand. Do you need to bill me for an additional office visit to answer these questions? She responds, Yes, I do. So I sit there in this strange gown, cold and listen to her talk about the dangers of traveling to the remote locations in Ethiopia. Needless to say, she scared me into getting the vaccinations for Hepatitis A, Polio Booster (apparently the Polio we were given as kids is no longer good enough), Yellow Fever, and Meningitis. Sitting in the chair the doctor was very unclear as to what the next steps were but she said get dressed and walked out. I waited for quite some time then ventured around the office to find her. She is nowhere to be found so I sit and wait. In walks the nurse and says you need to take your shirt off. WHAT? I just got dressed? You need to get your Meningitis shot, without warning she injects this thing into my arm and as she's walking out I hear in this little voice, your arm is going to really hurt for the next 24-48 hours. I receive the remainder of my prescriptions and head home, thinking... 3 more shots, 2 prescriptions and 12 more days to go.