A Trip to the Health Department
Yellow Fever is a nasty viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes that can cause acute kidney failure and death. There is no cure - you just get sick and either die or get better. Luckily, Walter Reed developed a vaccine for it, as this disease has a history of wiping out large segments of occupying armies in Africa and South America.
Yet another wonderful thing about Pittsburgh is that we are not at risk for a Yellow Fever pandemic. Too cold.
But if you are traveling to certain equatorial regions of the world, you have to go get vaccinated. You even have to carry proof that you've been vaccinated.
By the way, M and I are going to Uganda this summer. More to follow on that.
Getting the vaccine is a big deal. Because it's a live vaccine, it's very dangerous, so they only administer it in certain locations. One such place is the Allegheny County Health Department. They just redesigned their website and it looks pretty snazzy. They have to mix up the vaccine right before they administer it and it's only good for an hour, so you have to go at very specific times, like Wednesdays from 6-7. The first time we went, there were about a hundred people waiting in line, but this week it was snowing and the clinic was nearly empty.
Before they stick the needle into your arm, you are warned about the possible complications from receiving this vaccine. Like, your throat might swell up and you die. Hmmm. After I got it, I was definitely paranoid all night wondering if I was, in fact, still breathing normally. My throat felt scratchy and I had a fever. That turns out to be the normal, non-life-threatening, reactions, though. In ten days, I will be immune from Yellow Fever!
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1 comment:
Well, abandon your fears that I will not be joining you on our first of many mission trips to Uganda. I now have become vaccinated against the dreaded yellow fever. The nurse made me wait for five minutes "just in case you have an allergic reaction" so I moved to a table to fill out my "official yellow fever certificate." As I sat, I felt a warmth spread across my arm where I had just received the injection...I began to have difficulty breathing and I could feel the color drain from my face. Having put off the shot for months because I was just a little anxious, I was now very sure that I was going to die in a room filled with strangers. All for the cause, I thought to myself as my chest began to tighten. I avoided looking at my arm until I could put if off no longer. Slowly I turned my head toward my left arm, expecting redness, swelling and hives.....only to find that the source of the warmth was the beautiful sun shining in the clinic window.Humbled by the realization that I was totally responding with anxiety and not anaphylaxis [medical term for allergic reaction], I meekly walked out of the clinic and made my way out to the blue skies, sunshine and hustle/bustle of Forbes Avenue in the early evening.One shot down, nine more to go. Love, Mum
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