it’s just like an antbite

as early as last week, we got a notice that flu shots would be given today at the office. for free. nice, i thought. except for the fact that i’m afraid of needles. the memo said it would start at 10am.

breakfast time, my friend & i were kidding each other about it. both of us are scared of needles. every year, come APE period, both of us would always be soooo maarte when it comes to blood extraction. even her hubby were telling us horrific things about the flu shots. that it would be administered like that of a diabetic person administering insulin. or that it would really be very painful.

we had lunch at around 11. still the doctor hasn’t arrived. we were getting a little relieved. (yes! no more needles, we thought) but after we had lunch, the doctor arrived. one by one, we were given out forms to fill. and one by one, the shots were administered.

i was hovering by the clinic, watching the proceedings, when i heard the doctor say to my officemate: “neng, bawal muna magbuntis for one month ha.” and i couldn’t help myself but blurt out: “ha?!? pano na kami? safe sex na naman for one month? 2nd month na to na hindi kami makakagawa ng baby! naman doc, trulily ba ito?” he just gave me a smile and told me to wait. it was just for a month daw. automatically, my mind spun. maybe this was a sign for me to abstain from the shot! yes! but of course, i texted my hubby about it. and his reaction: “wag ka na lang mag-flu shot. di rin naman yan 100% protection from flu. delay na tayo ng delay pag-gawa ng baby.”

somehow, i was having doubts about abstaining. an officemate told me that the shot costs about 1200 petot if administered outside (hospital, private clinic, etc.). i told hubby about it and he said that “hind raw dapat panghinayangan yun”. hmmn. pros and cons. pros and cons. eventually nanghinayang rin ako. and i persuaded hubby to agree. he gave in and said : sige na nga. mas mahirap nga pala na kung kelan ka buntis, saka ka magkasakit.

first thing they’d ask was if you have fever right at that moment. none.

2nd thing: are you allergic to eggs? nope.

i told the doctor i was taking antibiotics for the 3rd day, would there be any contraindication? none naman daw. so go.

i felt like such a baby. i called for a friend to hold my hand while the doctor was giving me the shot. after a few seconds, done! hehe. my arm felt a little numb after a few minutes but then it went away as the afternoon progressed.

i heard one of the managers say that there won’t be any excuse anymore for anyone to call in sick for the next couple of days daw. hahaha. pano pala kung stomach problems di ba? hehe.

’twas really funny watching some of the other employees taking the shot. different expressions. some were also as apprehensive as i was. the best thing about it was, kanya-kanyang takutan kung gano kasakit. i suddenly remembered one of rach’s posts about yohan getting the flu shot.