A series of essays....
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MY NURSE WAS GENTLE AND KIND WITH A GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR! |
By: Jacqueline E Hughes
How does one finally react after receiving something you’ve had to wait for and wanted for such a long time? Well, I will tell you how I reacted: positively giddy! About as happy as anyone has a right to be. I’m still not certain if the Pfizer vaccine jabbed into the upper portion of my left arm had anything directly to do with it, chemically speaking, but I’m sure this act opened-up a large dose of emotions I’d been holding back for quite a while.
After hoping and wishing for and dreaming about being scheduled for our inoculation here in Kalamazoo (with the Portage Pfizer operations just a few miles down the road from our house), for weeks now, the email arrived last week inviting us to schedule our appointments for this past Tuesday as new supplies had been allocated for Michigan. After complying, Dan and I found ourselves high-fiving each other and giggling and stepping a bit lighter all last week!
We’d missed the boat during the last go around of shots while many of our friends were already receiving their second shot in the series of two with the Pfizer vaccine. I have yet to hear of anyone I know having been administered the Moderna vaccine.
So, we woke-up on Tuesday morning and dressed for both the bitter cold weather and the act of easily exposing our upper arm for the generous gift from science and the first step towards bringing life as we enjoyed it in the past back to fruition—for all of us! I did not like being left out of the equation for so long; deprived of participating in a life I missed and longed for again.
For all of you who know me, when confronted with a choice between snow boots or flip flops, the latter wins every time. Until now. Socks, boots, fake-fur hooded coat, and gloves all contributed to my proud Michelin Woman image. Stuffing myself in the car for our short trip to the designated venue was such a joy. I felt like a small child heading to Orlando for my first trip to Walt Disney World. Seriously special!
The people working at the Kalamazoo County Expo Center were kind, efficient, caring, and helpful all rolled-up into one organized entity. I found myself skipping from one station to another, from Kilimanjaro Safaris to Expedition Everest, on my journey through the cavernous rooms of the building and smiling along the way.
We reached the ‘holy gates,’ otherwise known as Station #4, and were guided to Table E to await instructions. By this time, I would have attempted a backflip if they’d asked me to. There was plenty of room. It was amusing to look around to see some people in various stages of undress, though. Several older gentlemen had stripped down to bare chests, suspenders casually draping down their sides, almost as though they anticipated the shot penetrating their upper buttocks or thigh as if they were small children once again.
After swabbing my arm with alcohol and saying, “This will prick only slightly,” it was all over. My first question was, “Why are so many people afraid of getting a shot?” One nurse at Station #4, Table E, answered me with a political twist stating that many are still not sure if the vaccine is real and if it works and won’t subject themselves to it. But, my own nurse knew what I meant and relayed a story of how one person fainted dead away when the syringe came two feet from them. Both answers evoked a reaction from me as, with scientific endeavors throughout the years, people will always see science and progress in a different light based upon beliefs instilled in them by the various teachings in their own background.
At Station #5 we set-up our second shot appointment for three weeks later and sat-out our ‘observation’ time period before leaving the building.
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TWO HIGHLY PRECIOUS PROOF OF VACCINATION CARDS! |
Jumping into the car, a broad smile spread across my face. And, by the time we drove over to our daughter’s house where we planned on having lunch with her and our two grandchildren who were enjoying a ‘snow day,’ I was full of vitality and spirit. I knew it was a natural high. I didn’t believe it was a reaction to the vaccine so recently taken. The power poured out of me like molten lava from a highly active volcano. It engulfed me with its natural energy as I elicited the strangest looks from husband, daughter, grandkids, and even their dog, Oreo.
I played games on my grandson’s Oculus that required extremely exaggerated arm movements. I was feeling no pain. We played a dice game with the kids that generated laughter from the joy and happiness felt deep down inside. My lunch was devoured with the gusto of the starving and I reveled in a simple and sweet conversation with my beautiful daughter as she worked at her desk from her home office. She has been working from home for a year. Life as she had been accustomed to was becoming obsolete.
Meanwhile, I felt like a kid in a candy store; a woman shopping for an unlimited amount of shoes; the lady in a crowded room laughing louder than anyone else; the captured being released by the invaders; a person fully appreciating the freedom of being in the moment. By the time we said our goodbyes and arrived home, I crashed like the Hindenburg—fully engulfed in flames and without a single bit of fight left in me.
Having the first round of the precious vaccine opened up the world and helped me see the endless opportunities ahead for all of us. With a bit more caution and common sense applied, we can love, laugh, socialize, move about the cabin on our own terms, and be the curious creatures we have been and are meant to be. Eventually, we will get to hug and hold each other, kiss a friend, as well as be surrounded by others in all social settings that had been taken for granted not long ago.
My ‘natural high’ was a release of pressure that had been building-up for months. Like a tea kettle when its contents comes to a boil, it can make the kettle’s whistle create ear piercing pitches of sound. Coming down from such a high can be an experience in itself. Sleep. Sleep and more sleep was the remedy to neutralizing my emotions. Honestly, this was the eye-opening event I’d been hoping for for weeks. I can’t help but feel among the blessed and the grateful. What an amazing experience!
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that our health is the most important thing we have. Do whatever it takes to get your own vaccine inoculation and feel the euphoria for yourself. Continue to wear your face masks no matter what and always take care of yourself and others.
Copyright © 2021 by Jacqueline E Hughes
All rights reserved
