Just Me

Okay, I know I ranted about my new pen and I do love it, but if you decide to get one, get the medium nib. Mine has the fine point nib and I find myself wishing it wrote a thicker line.


This is my bad boy Kodak. He will be going to the clinic with me Wednesday because he is limping on a front leg. I found a bite wound on his leg and he wouldn't let me find the second hole. Bite wounds most commonly have two holes. So it's off to the clinic for him for a Dr. exam. He will most likely be prescribed antibiotics and he such a whining baby about such things that the dosing will be a major chore.

I'm currently enduring vaccinations for Hepatitis A and B and Rabies. I'm a Ndart member (National Disaster Animal Rescue Team). Ndart is a part of the national Humane Society that deploys animal rescue teams to disaster areas. I couldn't go to New Orleans after Katrina or Southern California during the fires because of my non-vaccinated status.

Hepatitis A is two shots in the arm, six months apart. Hepatitis B is three shots in the arm, two and six months after the first. Rabies is four shots in the arm muscle, key point here is that it's in the muscle unlike hepatitis injections which are just under the arm skin. Rabies is a shot the first day, others at seven days, 21 and 28 days.

I don't like needles and almost fainted at my tetanus shot a few years ago, but the Hep A and Rabies were easy because of the very tiny needles. I didn't feel a thing even though the Rabies was in the muscle. What I did feel was the Hep B injection. The needle poke was unknown to me but I felt the vaccine being injected.

My first Rabies shot was with a nurse I didn't know and she said she had never given a Rabies vaccination and didn't know if it hurt. Definitely not a great way to instill confidence to a patient such as myself. But I didn't faint, didn't get nauseous while waiting for the shot although I did get sudden chills. I felt nothing during the the needle stick and injection.

My second shot was with Janet, my Dr.'s regular nurse who I am very familiar and comfortable with. Janet said she has never given a Rabies vaccination and didn't even know where to inject it. That news didn't nauseate me because Janet is a good nurse. She consulted with my Dr. and did an excellent job of giving me the injection. Janet and I both breathed a huge sigh of relief afterwards.

I'm also taking the Ndart required classes with FEMA to prepare me for disaster sites. If I get deployed to a site, I will be vaccinated and educated. and can help the animals.