Shots, Prescriptions, and Tests! Oh, My!

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I would like to start my travel blog with a favorite quote.

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, all foes to true understanding. Likewise tolerance, or broad, wholesome charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in our little corner of the earth all one's lifetime..."

- Mark Twain

...And it begins.

With a little less then a month from departure, travel preparation has been ramped up to full mode. Plane tickets from SFO to Heathrow to Entebbe? Check. Visa application along with my physical passport (a little nerve racking) mailed off to the Uganda Embassy? Check. Travel insurance secured, with up to $250,000 for my remains to be "repatriated"? (even MORE nerve racking!!!!) Check. All I have to do now is pack, and of course there is everyone's favorite part of traveling - getting the shots...

After having multiple (yeah two) phone consultations with Kaiser Permanente's travel clinic I was finally scheduled to receive my bevy of shots and medications at the Walnut Creek hospital. On the appointed day I downed a fistful of Ibuprofen and prepared for the onslaught. When I got to the 'Crick and checked in for my forms the receptionist behind the counter turned and announced to the doctor who emerged from the visiting rooms, "this one is getting everything we got". This made me feel good, as I was glad the pain I would soon be feeling was at least appreciated... Then, i read the Yellow Fever vaccination form. "Severe Problems: Life threatening allergic reaction (approximately 1 reported per 131,000 doses), Servere nervous system reactions (approximately 1 reported per 150,000 doses), Life-threatening severe illness with major organ systems failure (approximately 1 reported per 200,000 doses)." That last one especially didn't sound too fun. But, then came the kicker, "More then half of the people who suffer these side effects die." Now, sufficiently freaked out, I continued reading hoping to find even smaller print stating how such deaths were atleast euphoric in nature. Instead read,"please contact the CDC if you would like to learn more." I didn't.

However, when it came time for the shots my doctor was an absolute pro. I didn’t feel a thing, well barely, and only thing that was bruised was my ego when the MD pulled the old, "hey, look over there" trick. Dang, you would think that somebody at the ripe age of 26 would see that one coming... I ended up with three shots in each upper arm and one TB test in the lower, on top of the four prescription medications. As to be expected with vaccines, slight nausea kicked in the next day. I quickly concluded that this must be the life threatening severe illness with major organ system failure. (I swear I'm not a hypochondriac, really) This was proceeded with generaly all-over soreness the day after. The kind of body aches you get with a fever, just minus the fever...

All and all, it really was a relatively painless experience. Made only better by the fact that Kaiser picked up the whole tab. Could Michael Moore be wrong!?! I doubt it.

I can now say, with a renewed sense of invincibility, that I should be protected against: Typhoid, Hepatitis (A&B), Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Rabies, Polio, Meningococcal disease, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis, Yellow Fever and Malaria...

...Oh, my.


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On a separate note, I would like thank Pete DeVolpi for his generous contributions toward my R.E.I. registry.

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Comments

[Leannie]

i am so proud of you!!!!

[Kristen]

this is great
good luck. it seems like a lot of work, but I know you are motivated and will do great!!