Dear Son and I got shot. Finally.
Now suffering the Moderna Arm, stiffness, soreness and pain.
We rocked up to the community center at the district admin offices on Sunday morning and got slotted into the production line of helpful people in masks checking our paperwork and directing us thru the maze of partitioned off cubicles.
Mine was first, and I felt like a pinball machine silver ball being batted down the table with paddles and directional bars...from staff member to staff member and finally thru to the screened off area where a young woman apparently gave me an injection. I say "apparently", because it was SO quick and easy I didn't feel a thing and I'd spent every moment since waking obsessing over the pain-to-come :-)
I guess I haven't had a vaccination for many years, but blood tests aplenty, and maybe it's a different kind of needle? Or, was she like that story of the German nurse who injected saline solution into thousands of people as a protest against the whole vaccination system?
I hope not!
Anyway - spat out at the other end of the process after about 35 mins.
We went shopping, spent a quiet afternoon at home and tried to stay off the alcohol...too much alcohol. Felt a little arm stiffness and heat overnight. But no worries. The next day I actually drove out to see a friend living in the countryside to help her bottle tomatoes and devour a homemade pizza. Felt a little sore in the arm.
Come 5 pm - a full 30 hours after the injection - major change. Both Dear Son and I had painful, dead arms and taking off clothes at bedtime was like a kids' game where you have to do something with only one hand. Sleep was patchy.
Anyway. We feel happy to have finally got the vaccination. We hope Okaasan had it too last week, Sapporo is in yet another State of Be Careful, so hospital visits are out of the question. And we wait to see when she can be released back to her care home hospital unit...and then onwards to a permanent facility.
Guess that'll be a September event.
I'm a vaccination nurse, it's a tiny needle, and a tiny, tiny amount so no muscle fibre stretching. So as long as you've someone confident in their injection technique, little pain and done in a second!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you've got your vaccination, I hope that Japan improves numbers wise... I still hold out hope about visiting again in 2022.... but who knows.
Ahh! That's the difference! Thankyou. Yes, I haven't had vaccinations for about 30 years...since long ago exotic travels, so I am sure the needle technology has improved. Now I am not nervous about the 2nd shot itself...but hearing more and more "war" stories from friends about the Moderna side effects on shot 2....so I'll be hunkering down Sept 12, 13...14....
DeleteNot going to lie, don't organise any trips or kayaking for a few days after your second shot!
DeleteYou'll likely have shivers, aches and generally feel rotten. But it's very effective, I'm in the UK and got my second dose in January and still have very high antibodies.