I've been Jabbed!
Yes Dear Readers, I am now partially vaccinated against the dreaded covid 19.
Praise The Jesus...
If there was one.
Sorry, I had to get that "shot" in.
Jabbed. Shot. Get it??
Actually, I didn't see anyone praying or genuflecting or clutching a rosary.
Of course, I was clutching my pearls.
I was alone when I entered the huge Cowichan gymnasium where the smell of sweaty socks and armpits hung in the cool, salty Island air. Again, maybe from armpit sweat.
I don't know.
I am not a Doctor, although some friends refer to me as "Nurse Reid" whenever I wear my Nursing Crocs. I am always happy and prepared to diagnose ailments.
The whole vaccination process took about 50 minutes.
Canadian Red Cross workers were everywhere- even one I knew.
Eli from Cowichan Auto. How we recognized each other behind masks I don't know- but we did.
I had the QR Image in my Pass Android app on my phone but I was never asked for it.
I was asked if I was wearing a fresh mask. Never saw that posted anywhere as a requirement.
A fresh mask.
I was.
I was.
Almost.
I guess I fibbed just a bit.
I panicked. So many questions and I'm a Senior.
Anyhoo, I'm a nurse and we're allowed- even us "fake" nurses.
So, take it from Nurse Reid. Wear a new mask.
The young Canadian Red Cross worker asked me to swipe my health card in the swiper thingy on the desk. I also had to tell him my birthdate just to be sure I was who I said I was and not under the influence of Vodka I guess...
He didn't mention the mask.
Phew!
He gave me a sheet of paper and said- "Read this at your leisure."
I had passed the "screws"- for it kind of felt like a bad prison movie being in that gym with all the congregants separated by a few metres and sitting on ugly, yellow plastic chairs.
Then I was instructed to a volunteer wearing a powder blue tee shirt who pointed me to two plastic, yellow chairs where I was told to sit.
I did.
Alone.
Did I mention I was alone?
I should say that in this gym it echoed because of the high ceiling and smooth floor making it hard to hear people when they spoke to you. By the way, one person can accompany you for moral support but my support- my Husband, stayed at home as he was building a deck and stairs onto our backyard terraces. He was supported in that task by my Brother Scott a recent new arrival to the Big Island. Actually, Scott is the builder and the Hubbie would be the support worker.
In a few minutes- almost right on the dot of my appointment time, I was sent to Lola who was sitting behind a white table where a computer sat and papers were strewn about.
Yes- "What Lola wants, Lola gets". We had that laugh.
Nurse Lola was pleasant and she went over a few things like the vaccine I was about to be jabbed with was the Pfizer vaccine. I answered "no" to a bunch of questions on a printed sheet in front of me.
No, I was not indigenous.
No I wasn't feeling ill.
No I wasn't breastfeeding.
She did not mention the mask.
Again- phew!
As we chatted Lola rolled up my sleeve and said she admired my shirt.
"It reminds me of Delft Blue China."- she chirped.
"Actually it's a Ren Spooner design from Hawaii"- I said.
"Lovely." Smiled Lola.
We had become fast friends!
Lola talked of a bureau she had at home that was painted the same colour blue as my shirt.
As she told me, I saw her reach across the table for a little brown pad about the size of a dime.
She stuck it on my arm.
Nurse Lola then said-
"Now go over there and sit on a blue chair for 15 minutes and leave. You don't have to see anyone before you leave- unless you feel unwell."
OMG!
I had not felt the needle prick my skin and I wasn't even under the influence of vodka.
I am somewhat an expert on pricks and this one got past me- somehow...
How could that be?
I mean not feeling the needle NOT being under the influence of Vodka.
So I stood up. Thanked Lola for being there and gave her a box of Merci chocolates.
I walked across the gym through basketball court markings and plopped down on a blue plastic chair sitting up against the gym wall.
Sitting in a chair in a gym is the closest I ever got to being a jock- both in high school and beyond.
So kids, that's about it.
Nothing more to say.
I shopped at WalMart and Canadian Tire before heading home to the mountain.
I do have a slight soreness in a joint or two and my jaw has a bit of an ache.
Lola said that could be expected for up to 48 hours.
Nothing to worry about she had said unless I start vomiting. That's when I call a special number on the sheet that I was handed way back at check in.
The future is bright.
I'll get a text in about sixteen weeks when I get a second jab.
My heart beats rapidly with anticipation.
Gawd, I hope it isn't the vaccine doing that...
