I'm on a roll!

Last week, I had blood drawn without an audience. This week, I got a shot without an audience. I'm going to overcome my needle phobia!

I scheduled a physical with an internist since I had never had one before. I liked the doctor and plan to use her when I'm sick or when I need to see a doctor. At the end of the visit, Dr. Monahan said I needed to get a DPT shot. I haven't had a tetanus shot in about thirteen years, so I agreed to get one. The last one I got was when I was seventeen and about to head to college. I remember it hurting, but I didn't remember much more than that. Maybe I blocked the pain. That tetanus shot hurt. A lot. I'm a big ole' baby anyway, but this was exceptionally painful.

The phlebotomist who gave me the shot prepared me for the discomfort by saying I could expect some pain shortly after the injection. She also said some people develop a knot where the injection is given. I experienced both. My arm felt like it was on fire shortly after the injection. I would describe that as a discomfort. Seven days after the shot, I still have a knot. It's slightly warm to the touch and is somewhat painful when touched. The redness has pretty much gone away. A little bruising appeared a few days ago, but it went away after a day or two.

It is generally recommended that you get a DPT every ten years. I now realize it takes that long to work up the courage to get another one.

I had my usual "nearly passing out" reaction. I hung out in the lab and chatted with an older gentleman who was having blood drawn, and his wife. I turned my head and stared at the wall while his blood was drawn. We talked about Christmas trees. I recovered after about six or seven minutes and headed out.

Honestly, I'm considering going to get a flu shot. It's probably a little late in the season to get a flu shot, but I'm still thinking about it. I will overcome my needle phobia.

All By Myself

I did something today that I've never done alone before. It is something that most adults do without an audience. I had blood drawn without my mommy or hubby being present. This is not a big deal for most people, but for someone with a needle phobia, it is a big deal.

I try to avoid needle sticks if at all possible. Sometimes, that's not possible. I am petrified of needles. Anytime I have blood drawn, I plan on spending at least twenty minutes at the lab. The actual procedure takes the usual twenty or thirty seconds. It's the recovery phase that takes about twenty minutes. I always request to lay down for the procedure. After the phlebotomist does her thing, I have to remain lying down for about ten minutes. After that time, I sit up for a few minutes and then lie down for a little longer. I'll make my way to the chair in the room and sit there with my head between my legs for a few minutes. Then, I'll stand for a minute to make sure I can walk without passing out. At that point, I'm usually ok.

Today, I laid on the exam table for about four or five minutes. Then I sat for a minute and then I moved to the chair. After sitting down for a minute, I walked out of the doctor's office and headed to the elevator. While waiting for the elevator, I realized I got up too soon. My lips went numb, my hearing became muted, and I started seeing spots. I made it to the lobby and found a chair. I was on the verge of hitting the floor, but I sat for a few minutes and allowed my blood pressure to get a little higher. While waiting in the lobby, I began sweating. That's usually one of the final things to happen before I get ok. Once I got up, I was good. I walked to my car without incident.

I have always been like this. I don't know why, but I'm petrified of needles. It's not so bad that I avoid medical care totally, but I usually think twice before visiting the doctor's office. This summer, I was stung by a bee. It was at this time that I discovered that I'm allergic to bee stings. I kept telling Justin that I was fine. He encouraged me to go see a doctor. I tried to get the doctor at the urgent care facility to allow me to take the benadryl orally. He smiled and said, "Um, no." I guess I had so much adrenaline pumping through my veins, that I really didn't have my usual reaction to the injection.

I hope I don't need blood drawn anytime soon, but I hope it gets easier the more times I have it done. I really wish I could donate blood. I'm healthy and I think my blood would useful. Maybe I'll be able to one day.

Vacation 2011: Castries, St. Lucia

We spent our fourth full day in Castries, St. Lucia. St. Lucia is a Commonwealth realm, like Barbados. They're an independent nation, but Queen Elizabeth II is their queen. Honestly, Justin and I were quite disappointed with St. Lucia. I think we were expecting something similar to Barbados. St. Lucia seemed to have a lot more poverty than I've ever seen before. The residents weren't totally poverty-stricken, but I was depressed and sad after seeing the conditions that some of the people live in. I'm sure not everyone on the island lives like this, but it's what I saw and that image is stuck in my head.

We decided to walk from the port to the downtown area. Several taxis stopped and tried to give us a ride, but we preferred to walk. During this walk, we walked through a particularly poor area. The dog lying outside one of the structures tugged at my heart. The fact that humans lived in such poor conditions made me sad, too, but animals tied up and being forced to live like that is beyond sad to me.

We eventually made it to the town. There were lots of buildings with vendors and booths. The vendors would physically pull you inside their booth and seemed mad when we said we just wanted to browse. "You're not going to buy anything," which was said with total disgust and shock, was uttered to us several times.


Digicel works in St. Lucia, too!


We literally spent about twenty or so minutes walking around the downtown area before we headed back to the ship. Once again, we were asked by several taxi drivers if they could give us a ride.

These are some photos taken from the ship.












Everything was so lush and green.










A water taxi:





I will say that I got a very lovely tan while walking to and from the ship. I kind of expected to peel, but I did not. The redness subsided within a day or so and I had a nice tan on my shoulders and face. It's not much, but I'll take what I can get.

Happy 16th Birthday!

My niece turns sixteen today. She has really grown-up so fast. She has a boyfriend, which makes me feel so old.


She had just turned six in this photo.

Now she looks like this:

Happy birthday! I love you!

Vacation 2011: Bridgetown, Barbados

We spent the third full day of the cruise in Bridgetown, Barbados. Barbados is a Commonwealth realm, which means it is an independent nation, but still has Queen Elizabeth II as its queen. Canada and Australia are also Commonwealth realms. I was surprised at how developed Barbados was. It's not as developed as the US, but it is definitely developed. They have KFCs!


The first task on our agenda was to find a cell phone store so Justin could get a card for his phone. This would allow him to have internet access and also make phone calls without being charged international roaming fees. The Bajans (Barbados residents) were incredibly friendly. Everyone was so helpful! This one man who was a Digicel (cell phone reception provider in some of the Caribbean islands) retailer allowed Justin to put his personal card in Justin's phone so he could see if it would work before he sold the card to Justin. The card worked, but the man referred Justin to a company owned store since he was unable to provide the service Justin needed. He could have sold the card and service to us, but he was so honest and didn't do that. Awesome!

After purchasing the card and service, Justin and I grabbed a cab and headed to the Mount Gay Rum Visitors Centre. We each paid $7 and got a tour of their facility, which bottles the rum. During the tour, we watched a short video of the history and making of the company. We learned that each seller of their rum is required to be licensed by the company. This particular location is #007, which is in honor of Mr. 007, James Bond.

We also got to taste several of their current rums.

That one on the end was my favorite, but it is also one of the most expensive ones they produce.

After the tour, we walked around the downtown area and enjoyed some local food. I had a plate of macaroni pie. It was kind of like macaroni and cheese, but it had some spices and onions. It was quite tasty.

The port had these buildings/contraptions that I'm guessing had something to do with sugar cane. The island uses sugar cane to make the rum.



Isn't this water amazing?

The Carnival Victory:

The obligatory "tourist in front of the ship" photo:

These guys were cleaning and painting the hull of the ship while we were in Barbados.

Justin took quite a few photos while we were in port.







This ship needs some anti-rust paint.

This is a stadium in Bridgetown where Rhianna performed shortly before we arrived. We learned from our cab driver that she is from Barbados.
The Barbados flag flies from our ship:


Before we sailed, I fell asleep in a lounge chair on the deck. The ship sounds a loud horn just before closing the doors and pushing away from the pier. I think this horn was just above the chair I chose because I nearly rolled out of my chair as I was suddenly awakened by this awful noise. The gentleman in the chair beside me did the same thing. It was loud.

This is the Barbados Coast Guard station in the port.


I was fascinated by these concrete shore protection structures.

Good bye, Barbados!












Each port we visited provides a pilot who sails the ship away from the pier and out of the port. A "chase" boat retrieves this pilot and returns to shore. They all waived to us.