I got the H1N1 vaccine today. Read the consent, agreed, signed, took the shot. As I walked out into the very sunny day and drove away only minutes later, I was wracked with a sharp pain around my sinuses. As I gazed up into the sun, this was followed by four sharp sneezes. The thoughts that ran through my head in the next few moments:
- "Oh my god! I'm getting sick already!"
- "The consent said that this vaccine can't cause influenza! Those lying bastards!"
- "Is a headache associated with anaphylaxis? Am I itching?"
- "If I have to get back to the hospital quickly, where is the closest parking lot to the ER?"
Sometimes when we're the patients, even the most rational and evidence-driven among us can succumb to a little undue panic. I'm reminded of the saying of a favorite professor of mine:
"What exactly is an emergency? An emergency is something out of the ordinary that happens to YOU."
- "Oh my god! I'm getting sick already!"
- "The consent said that this vaccine can't cause influenza! Those lying bastards!"
- "Is a headache associated with anaphylaxis? Am I itching?"
- "If I have to get back to the hospital quickly, where is the closest parking lot to the ER?"
Sometimes when we're the patients, even the most rational and evidence-driven among us can succumb to a little undue panic. I'm reminded of the saying of a favorite professor of mine:
"What exactly is an emergency? An emergency is something out of the ordinary that happens to YOU."
