Thursday, October 29, 2009

H1N1 Guinea Swine


Human Guinea Pig or Swine reporting: I had my vaccine this morning. After writing yesterday's blog I got an email from the hospital chaplain saying that "spiritual care providers" (that includes me) could get the shot along with hospital staff, starting this morning. So, I went in and, lo and behold, no line-up whatsoever. If there is no blog tomorrow you'll know there are serious side effects.
Actually, I mentioned to the nurse the concerns of parents in my congregation. She said that I should encourage you all to have your children innoculated.

I think my heart rate went up a bit as the nurse was about to jab -- what was I doing? But life tends to put things into perspective. I had to stay in the hospital for a minimum of fifteen minutes so I multi-tasked. I went to see our three members who are currently patients. One is a guy nearing ninety who is very ill in special care. Another just had surgery to remove a tumour. The third is in her eighties and has an inoperable brain tumour. Somehow my personal concerns faded into the background as I talked with them.

On my walk back to the church I met a woman on the street who wondered if there was a church nearby. I realized she was looking for St. John's where the Clarington Connections drop-in takes place. 'I'm schizophrenic" she told me matter-of-factly. Again, a matter of perspective.

I'll keep you posted if anything exciting happens as a result of my jab.

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