Covid Vaccine and Other Necessities

This past month and a half or so I’ve been hanging around The Homeland area taking care of appointments and getting other necessary things done while I’m here.

Avoiding The Spring Spraying

One thing about being here in the spring is having to avoid farm fields being sprayed as farmer’s prepare to plant crops.

But it’s not just farm fields.

It’s also not just springtime.

Residential area’s, campgrounds and other public places spray lawns and gardens throughout the summer months.

The spraying of fields, lawns, gardens, etc was always an issue when I lived in a stationary house. Nothing is fool-proof, but, living on wheels allows me to go elsewhere until the spraying is done.

I found a few places in Wisconsin that were safe-for-me as I waited for the first round of spring spraying shenanigans to be completed in northern Illinois. Those places are Rustic Barn RV Park and the Dane County Parks Campgrounds.

Covid Vaccine Adventures

I decided to get the Covid vaccine.

Round 1 was done in April and I completed Round 2 this past week. I’ll be considered fully vaccinated the week after next (2 weeks after shot 2).

I received the Moderna vaccine. I didn’t specifically choose Moderna – it’s just what the clinic had.

Doing My Time After The Shot

Since I have a history of weird reactions they had me wait 30 minutes after each shot instead of the usual 15 minutes.

Round 1

As I sat down for my first shot the “shot giving” nurse slathered hand sanitizer on over her gloves. As I wondered why this was even necessary my eyes started watering and, of course, I started coughin-spittin-n-sputterin.

After my shot, I was escorted to the waiting room. The room was full of people sitting in chairs spaced about six feet apart.

There were 2 empty chairs so I picked one and plopped myself down to do my time.

With all the hand sanitizer and toxic-to-me stuff in the air I wasn’t feeling too good before I got the the waiting room. And… soon after sitting down in the waiting room I REALLY began feeling not-so-good.

I started fanning myself with the reading material they handed out at the front desk.

I’d only gotten about 2 fanning motions in when *poof* the nurse was standing right smack in front of me asking if I was ok. She must have flown or magically teleported over to me because I don’t remember seeing her walk my way.

They certainly deserve credit for being on top of potential reactions!

I told the nurse about my sensitivities and that I think I just need fresh air.

The nurse took me to a private room to wait my 30 minutes.

Shortly after being placed in my own room (away from all the hand sanitizer and otherwise polluted air) I began to recover. This tells me it was an MCS reaction – NOT a reaction from the vaccine.

There were at least 4 different people checking in on me every few minutes to make sure I was ok. It helped the 30 minutes go by fast!

Round 2

During my second shot the nurse did not slather hand sanitizer on (she may have but she didn’t do it while I was sitting there).

After the shot, they didn’t take me to the waiting room. I was escorted past the waiting room to my own private room where my 30 minutes went off without a hitch.

Covid Vaccine Side Effects

What few side effects I had after Round 1 only lasted the day of the shot. The next day I was fine and it was life as usual.

My side Round 1 effects were:

• My arm was a bit tender but I only noticed it if I touched it.
• I had a slight headache.
• I was extremely tired (so tired that I went to bed at 4:30 PM!).

The Round 2 side effects were stronger and lasted longer than Round 1 but it was nothing unbearable:

• My arm swelled some and hurt for quite a few days.
• I had a slight headache for a few days.
• I was very tired the day of the shot (I went to bed at 3:45PM!).

I was nervous about getting the vaccine but I was more nervous about not getting the vaccine.

I’m thankful to be on the other side of it!

About The Photo(s)

In between appointments I head to Krape Park (in Freeport IL) where I walk trails, sit by the dam or do whatever trips my trigger.

The photo(s) above are of Yellow Creek which runs through Krape Park. The morning sun was in the perfect position for a reflective photograph.