More Vaccinations - Life and Death in the Time of Cholera

Another visit to Nurse Carol for Rabies and Hepatitis B (2nd round). This time she also includes the cholera vaccine. Called Dukoral it is an oral dose which comes in two sections. Put the powder in 150g of water, stir well and add the liquid in. Tastes great too! Especially after all the crap i ingested during my time experimenting with the herbal Tibetan medication. I have to take the 2nd dose 7 - 30 days later.

Carol assures me not only will it protect against against cholera for up to 5 years but it also reduces traveller´s diarrhea by 83%. Now that is what i call highly useful!

My next session is Tuesday afternoon for Rubella, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio and Meningitis. For the full sessions it will total GBP90. Not cheap to stay healthy is it?

Medication Time

I´ve never been so healthy in my life. So why have I had to make five trips to the Doctors´ Surgery since January?

I have had to endure re-registering at the family´s Doctor after they mislaid my medical records more than 25 years ago. I would have thought they would have welcomed me back with open arms! Clearly this is not the case, and I have had to follow some stringent procedures, in the first instance with the Head Registrar and then the Nurse, being weighed, measured (strangely i continue to grow taller), prodded, poked, blood pressure taken and providing urine samples. A perfect specimen of healthy man apparently!

Having now jumped through the variety of hoops, my first load of injections begins on Thursday, which is the reason why I needed to re-register in the first place. They include hepatitis A, hepatitis B, meningococcal meningitis, rabies, diphtheria, typhoid, yellow fever, measles, mumps, rubella and polio and boosters for tetanus. Fortunately i have the young and very attractive Nurse Carol to administer this barrage of dosages - and i certainly don´t want to be crying in front of her.

My ass will become the ultimate pin cushion and the side-effects should be interesting to say the least.

Editor´s Addition: Nurse Carol is neither young or attractive. However she is quite sweet and offers me two stickers for "being brave". I turned these down, but did request a lollipop instead. She doesn´t oblige.

We are sticking to arms rather than ass for now, with Hep. B delivered in my left arm and rabies (1) in my right.

Fortunately i know my Guardian Angel is with me, possesses a hot nurse´s uniform and promises me TLC.

Back again next week for round two of three sessions.