Thursday, February 19, 2009

Ouch!

So Spence met me in Nashville to celebrate his birthday. We kicked off the festivities with slew of shots at the travel clinic. To say our nurse was enthusiastic about her job would be an understatement. She let us know she's been sticking people, herself included, with needles since she was 12 (she has diabetes). And she feels strongly that anyone who gives shots should have extensive experience practicing on themselves. I thought for a minute she was going to make Spence and me give each other our shots just to prove her point.

When it came time for the deed, she coached us on how to relax and receive the shots in a way that would minimize soreness. Spence was pretty calm through her lecture, but my second shot really hurt and I had to shout, "Ouch!" That's when Spence got all twitchy. But he was brave, and we both got chocolate cherry kisses (the dark kind because that's better for your heart, she said).

Two hours later, we walked out 6 shots, 1 heart-transplant-looking cooler full of typhoid medicine and one tube of DEET-laden insect repellent richer -- and $716 poorer. And our brains full of diarrhea-dodging travel tips. For all you middle Tennessee families needing travel shots, I highly recommend Nashville Travel Medicine clinic. Cheryl was amazing, and we were barely sore for 24 hours. And their prices were better than the other big clinic.

Despite all the scary things we learned about food- and water-borne illnesses, the experience made us very excited about traveling. Come on, court date!