The Consequences of the Necessary Shots

The Consequences of the Necessary Shots

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1st Round of Shots (aka: Our 1st Setback) – Some countries won’t allow you to enter unless you have been vaccinated against Yellow Fever. Then, there are a number of additional vaccinations that one can get for all kinds of nasty diseases. Yesterday, we went to an office specializing in immunizations. Before we went, Elizabeth reminded me that she gets squeamish when it comes to needles. So, I was forewarned.

We were running late in the morning and only had time to grab a yogurt before we left for our appointment. As a pre-requisite, they wanted to see a list of countries that we planned to visit and they used that to generate a menu of immunizations that they recommended for us. The list was seven pages long and it literally took the nurse half an hour to review it with us. Elizabeth started feeling light headed and like she had low blood sugar. I quickly ran out to get her a bottle of Coke. When I returned she was lying on the floor with a small pile of Skittles next to her. Fortunately, the sugar helped her to start feeling better. We decided that in addition to Yellow Fever, that we’d get a vaccination for Hepatitis A & B.  Elizabeth went first to get it over with and decided to get a shot in each arm. She wasn’t too happy after the 1st one (Hep A/B) as it was somewhat painful. Shortly after the 2nd shot, she said to me that she felt like she might faint. She wasn’t kidding. Suddenly she started shaking and blacked out. Luckily, I caught her before she hit the floor. She came back to in about 10-15 seconds. The experience scared the heck out of both of us. The good news is that Elizabeth was back under full power before we left. The bad news is that we have to go back for a 2nd Hep A/B shot before we leave. Can’t wait for Round 2.


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