Shelby's Life and Whatnot

Flu Shot

I got my flu shot today (with my heart condition I really need it and qualify for it). My parent's primary care doctor has some left and seems to be the only person in town who does. When I walked into the very small waiting room, there were already 11 people there, not a one under 90. I took the last chair but when 4 people in walkers shuffled in I offered it up.

I had to wait for over an hour, which my mom had warned me about so luckily I brought a book. It wasn't too bad. I expected to just get a shot in the arm from a nurse but I actually saw the doctor. She was Russian and really quite funny. First she asked how I came to her and I explained that my parents are patients of hers and I just moved to the area and will be moving soon to Anaheim and blah blah blah. She asked who my parents were and I told her and she became very animated. "Oh, Shirley! What a wonderful person! I took a trip and she told me 'go here, go there' and I did and I had a wonderful time! She was so helpful! And you look just like her!"

Then she said, "You better start complaining to me because the Attorney General says I can't give you a flu shot unless you are complaining." So I said, "well, I have cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure..." and that set off a whole round of effusive talking ("So young!" and "No family history?!" and "transplant list!"). I then had to give her a play by play of the last 3 years, which she found extremely interesting.

She asked when my last blood test was I couldn't produce a satisfactory answer ("um, over a year ago?") and she insisted on doing a full blood panel for me, which "my new doctor in Anaheim will thank me for." So in addition to the shot I had to get my blood drawn. The shot was no biggie (for once it really was "just a pinch"), but I kind of dreaded the blood work. I have very small and difficult to find veins and I rarely get away with only being stuck once. Often I have to let a couple of people get a shot at me before they get it. When I was hospitalized I used to forbid the floor nurses from trying and specifically ask for a trauma nurse (general hospital tip: the people who are the best at drawing blood are the trauma nurses and the phlebotomists--not the floor nurses). Anyway, the first girl looked at one arm, looked at the other, tapped around a bit, and said, "I'm going to get the nurse." THANK YOU! There's nothing better than a person who realizes their own limitations and gets someone else instead of trying 5 or 6 times on you.

The nurse came in and got it right on the first try, with only a minimum of digging. As soon as the blood started flowing I said, "Good job!" She smiled and said, "I bet you get stuck a lot." Yep. So anyway, the whole thing took an hour and a half, but I'm safely innoculated now and will know in a couple of days what my blood has to say.