First They Shoot You

I'm pretty cavalier when I travel, but I usually travel to Europe. So I don't think about shots and such. For this trip, I checked the CDC website to see what they recommended because talk of necessary shots was in the air.
Nothing is required, but MANY are recommended. I went through the list and noted MY thoughts on the subject:

• Hepatitis A - hum, maybe
• Hep B - highly unlikely. Involved blood and hospitals. I have blood, but I don't go to hospitals other than to give birth. Highly unlikely.
• Japanese Encephalitis - involves chickens and unnatural acts. That would be a no.
• Malaria - Now that's a possibility. I diligently wrote down the suggested drugs provided by the CDC, just in case the people who do this for a living were unaware.
• Rabies - Not sure. I plan to journey into the more rural, but what are the chances? I've been camping and hiking (okay, not recently) and never been attacked. Hum, maybe.
• Typhoid - I think this was another maybe.
• Then boosters for all the childhood shots - Measles, mumps, polio, diptheria and tetnus.

The shooter was very nice. I didn't ask for his credentials, but he gives great shot. I would have taken a picture of the results, but a fat middle-aged arm with little round bandaids might put people off their feed. I got everything but the Japanese immunization. He painted such a great picture of me being bitten by some animal and being medivac'd to Thailand, filled with disease infested blood supplied by the hospital that gave me bad water.

Three shots in each arm, a series of 4 pills to take for typhoid (one pill every other day, an hour before food or 3 hours after which will keep me safe for 5 years; or one shot that lasts for two years. I am my mother's daughter, very good at taking pills, so that's the option I took.) and a big bottle of pills to take to prevent malaria. AND an emergency Delhi-belly kit, just in case I insist on drinking something I shouldn't. Pshew.

I was asked if I was okay with getting shots. Needles aren't a problem for me, but it always brings to mind the image of my sister and two brothers and I getting shots when we were very young. Karen and I were stoic, sticking out our arms and getting the shot. I still remember Jeff and Eric being chased around a table. Were they screaming? Did they really hide under the table? Memory is a strange thing, but I could swear that happened.