flu and pneumo shots

this year, i vowed to be healthier [except for the coke habit, er, coca cola]. well, at least i try to. so in line with that goal, i readily grabbed the opportunity when my sister texted that her company is offering discounted rates for flu and pneumonia shots to their employees and family members. so early saturday morning, i headed to their office. she and my parents were there too to get the said shots. me, i opted to get both as i'm paranoid this way. the event was rather uneventful. saw garry, an old high school classmate with his wife and baby, there too. it was very interesting to see little children with their different reaction towards needles. there's one brave 4 or 5-year old girl who was really cool about the whole injection thing. whereas there was her cousin, probably two years older than her and a boy, who was wailing not to have the injections. it was a funny and endearing sight. there was also this boy whom doctors kept egging not to look at the needle during the vaccination. the boy was crying the whole time. i think it wasn't so much as fear of the needle, but more of a frustration from adults preventing him to look at the needle and see the whole procedure with his own eyes. he was really bent on wanting to watch while the needle was inserted into his arm. as for me, i never shy away from needles. it's probably because i've been to doctors several times that i really don't dread any kind of procedure. like i mentioned, the vaccination was uneventful. i got the flu shot on my left deltoid and the pneumonia shot on my right deltoid. though there was no pain during the injection saved for the first needle prick, the story is altogether different now. i woke up today with shoots of pain on my right arm. i could barely move my right arm. dang, it's difficult taking the shower and getting into a shirt. i know this pain will be temporary. hopefully, i can begin to move my arm without much pain by tomorrow or by tuesday.

if these were the after effects, i now don't look forward to getting cervical vaccination in august. a doctor friend offered to give three shots at a discounted rate. my sister also informed me that she's had cervical vaccine before and it took a week before she could have her arm back to normal. anyhow, i think i will still saved up for this. i'm single and i want to rule out cervical cancer in my future. what's a week of weak arm anyway compared to the misery of having cervical cancer. although cancer doesn't run in our family, i think it's just best to prevent it when there's a way it can be prevented. i hope other women will try to get themselves vaccinated too.