bradenslen
bradenslen

I took my mother in for her second vaccine jab yesterday. Fortunately, the hospital had wheelchairs because there was a lot of walking. Fortunately the wheelchair put us in the handicapped line. No waiting, wheel in, get shot, wait a bit and done. Other lines were long.

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Ron
Ron

@bradenslen Our best Thai friend who lives two blocks away drove me to get my first jab in late March. This fulfilled her earlier promise that she "was gonna protect me during the pandemic." We drove ten minutes to a dedicated vaccination center run by our hospital, a small brick building with a large parking lot. My appt was for 1:15 pm, but we arrived 10 to 15 mins early and got in the line of less than ten people outside the door. It was more a slow moving line, not a waiting line. I had brought my form already filled out. We moved along steadily, signing my name, talking to others about when I got my Salk vaccine, and then I got my jab. Quick and all done. We made an appt for my second shot and then had to sit and wait for 15 mins to make sure nothing bad happened, and nothing did. At exactly 1:30 pm we got up and walked back to our car, past three people now standing outside in the slow moving line.

I didn't cry. 💉

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bradenslen
bradenslen

@Ron Good man! Your experience matches my own. They were only doing 60 yrs and older so there wasn't much of a line. They let us play musical chairs as we moved forward! Same for my mom's first shot. But in the 30 days between the first and second shots Indiana opened it up to everyone over 16 yrs. So when I wheeled her in there was a longish moving line for all the young folks (anyone younger than me is "young") but they were moving people through.

I'm glad you got your vaccination I'm sure it was a relief for both your wife and your friend that at least you were safe. It was a great relief to me to get my mother in. It lifted one more worry off my shoulders.

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In reply to
Ron
Ron

@bradenslen How smooth the whole thing worked really lifted my spirits. I had a bad experience with Kroger Pharmacy a couple of weeks earlier, but this made up for it. I was surprised at how sore my arm got. A friend suggested that drinking a lot of water might help for my shot #2.

I'm way older than you. No one in that building but me had any memory of getting the Salk vaccine. My mother was very relieved back then. I have a friend of many decades who didn't get it in time & grew up in hospitals with polio. His mother DIED of polio! Somehow he survived it all and has lived a wonderful life with a great wife and two excellent daughters. 💉

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bradenslen
bradenslen

@Ron I don't remember the Salk vaccine. I do remember as a pre-schooler seeing kids 8 - 10 years older than me (guessing) with a big metal leg brace and crutches that I'm pretty sure had polio. I also remember learning about iron lungs and the Salk vaccine in grade school. Polio was nasty.

I do remember some sort of vaccination drive as a kid but I think it might have been Smallpox. Not real sure.

About 5 years ago, I went and got the shingles vaccine, pnuemonia vaccine and mumps/measles vaccine (one each year) as a preemptive measure. Cheap insurance for my old age. A lot cheaper than even one night in a hospital.

I did have a sore arm for shot #1. Shot #2 I got the mild chills for two days and felt tired and a bit fuzzy headed. I could function but just felt punk for a bit. All normal now.

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Ron
Ron

@bradenslen Yes, I remember those metal braces & crutches too. My friend who had polio had part of his spine fused, so his back is very inflexible. But now he's in his 70's and has lived a worthy lifetime. He has a great wife, two good kids, helps run an outstanding private school and has traveled extensively all over the world. He is one of the smartest and well educated person's I know. He went to Harvard, but I think his real education came from his own reading on his own.

I had another friend who lived through shingles. Pretty awful. I heard there was an upgraded vaccine for that, but I don't know how recent that was. It might be worth checking on it. I think shingles is a lot worse than the original chicken pox.

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