Thursday, August 8, 2013

Is it TDaP or DTaP?

Last Thursday, August 1st, I had an appointment with my doctor to get a school physical done. I normally don't get a physical every year (I see enough doctors during the year and have enough testing done that there rarely seems to be any point), but since I'm transferring, my new school obviously wants one done. No big deal.

It was only after I was in with the P.A. that I found out I needed a vaccine booster. I have no issues with needles, so I stuck out my arm and in went my booster TDaP/DTaP shot. Once again, no big deal.

Until, you know, about a minute later, when most of my arm went numb and the place where the needle went in started to itch. Neither the P.A. or the nurse seemed worried, so they finished filling out my paperwork and sent me on my way, telling me the arm would probably be sore tomorrow and not to worry about it. Of course, the next morning, I woke up with a hard lump on my arm right where I'd gotten the booster shot. Like any good millennial, I turned to Google. Google informed me that this was relatively normal; some people got a hard lump after getting the shot, and it was likely a minor reaction to one of the vaccine components that would go away in a few days.

Over the course of the next few days, the lump grew to the size of a golf ball. It was itchy and warm to the touch. Pain radiated up to my shoulder and down to my elbow. First, the lump wasn't discolored. Then it was red. Then it looked like I had a massive purple bruise. That's when I decided to call the doctor, who wanted to see me immediately. I drove myself to the doctor, and lo and behold, I was running a fever for the first time in 21 years! (I don't ever get fevers. Like, seriously. I've had sinus infections, ear infections, colds, bronchitis, the flu, and all those other things you're supposed to get a fever with, and I NEVER get one. The last time I ran a fever, I was 2 and had walking pneumonia.)

Yeah, apparently I'm allergic to one of the vaccine components...

On a brighter note, while my body is being difficult, I'm actually getting kind of excited for law school, which is beyond insane (and which I'll insist was never the case when finals week rolls around), but... I like justice. I'm actually trying my hand at the transfer writing competition, which for those of you unfamiliar with law, isn't really what you'd think: it's basically how you get on to law review/a law journal, something which employers generally like to see and which gives you the opportunity to potentially publish a piece of your legal writing. I'm not really sure I'll finish the competition, because I'm nervous about how my legal writing will come across when I haven't done any of it in a year, but either way, going through the sources has been a nice re-introduction to law school. I was petrified I'd have forgotten everything during the year off I had, but thankfully, that isn't the case.

Everything has also improved as far as my relationship goes, which is a relief. We still have our issues to work on (who doesn't?), but I think we've managed to find the common ground that we needed. We'll see how things go, but they're looking up from here.

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