Important To Me

It was important to me for my boys to get the H1N1 flu shot. They get the regular flu shot every fall, and with this flu running rampant in the schools, I felt I had to try and get them vaccinated. I know some people have strong feelings against vaccinations, but I truly believe they are doing the world good.

Our pediatrician warned on their website they were not getting enough vaccine for their high risk patients, and if you could find the vaccine, get it. I got a call from Tri-County Health that they would be offering free vaccines at the nearest middle school on November 9th.

I was completely unprepared for the afternoon/evening that lay ahead of me! I arrived at the school 15 minutes before the clinic opened. Well, actually I left my house 30 minutes before, drove 5 minutes, parked and walked to the end of the line. The line snaked all around the school. It was crazy long, and continued to grow long after it grew dark. We befriended the family behind us, their son the same age as Elijah. The grassy areas gave them room to run. The sun began to sink, and we still had not made it inside the school. We spent between 90 minutes to 2 hrs before we got inside the school, and then they REALLY began the snaking. By the time we were all the way at the other end of the school, I thought I might cry! We were hungry, our feet hurt and we saw no end in sight.

3 hrs and 30 minutes later we made it to the nurse. The silver lining in all this: my boys got the flu mist- no needles! At least I didn't have to deal with crying kids as we stumbled back through the dark and tall grass to where we had parked our car.

Was it worth it? Time will tell. Had I been told when I arrived how long the wait would be, I would have turned around and left. Likewise, had I known I would be allowed to wait on school property early (say 1-2 hrs early), I might have brought my camping chairs and camped out.