My First Round of Vaccines......

Today was the day, the day where I got to be injected with all kind of virus particles to help boost my immune system so I can have hopefully a proper immunization to the associated viruses.  I wanted to take some pictures to show all of you all the lovely steps involved, but I luckily I forgot it at home.  I say luckily, because in the end, I chose to use my ipod to video record the events that occured. :)

So I presented myself at the Montreal General Hospital, a hospital that I have passed by countless times, but I can honestly say, I have never entered before.  I have more than a few friends who work there and seem to have nothing but good things to say.  Overall the staff were very friendly and helpful, the hospital itself a bit confusing to walk through and they have an eight story parking garage, which can be frustrating as you drive around in circles looking for parking, only to realize that there are none available :S

Although on this day, I arrived by the good ole B.M.W (bus; metro; walk - in case you didn't know).

 So as I wound my way through the hospital, I finally found the travel clinic, which was on the 10th floor located in Livingston Hall.  Enjoy the walk with me ;)

In general very nice people, except for the annoying trio of ladies working next door to the clinic.  I have never seen such un-professionalism, there are sick people sitting in the hall ways, some located right next to severe respiratory problems unit, and you have these three ladies, speaking, talking and laughing so loud that they block out everything else.  Not to mention their reenactment of the Lord of the Dance performance, which shook the floor as I sat there, waiting, making me only think how oblivious some people are to the pain and suffering of others, and even if it were in a regular business setting, how unprofessional.

I finally get called into the nurse's office, and once again of course I have to wait a few minutes.  To my joy, I get a nurse in training, so i have this nurse asking a bunch of questions as the head nurse (who was kind of cute) paced between multiple rooms as she was going away on vacation soon. 

I have to say, the nurse in training, unfortunately I no longer remember her name, did her job quite well.  Her injection techniques were excellent (as you will see) and she pleasant enough to talk to.   My favourite to watch is the TB (tuberculosis test), if you are a bit needle shy, then perhaps this video is not for you :P

Finally, all the injections are done, I tallied up my lovely bill of $285 and headed out.  Overall the experience was good, and long term, my arm was a bit sore, as if someone punched me in my shoulder a couple of times.  Other than that, I felt pretty good.

I had to head back to the hospital two days later to get the results of my TB test, although you always know the results before you get there.  If you have a reaction to the little stimulant they inject underneath your skin, the lesion will have grown in some shape or form.  If you do not react, your skin has returned back to normal, and hence a negative reaction, and therefore you have not been exposed to TB.  As for my TB results, they were negative! Yay! :)

Well that's it for now, sorry for the delay of this post, as I was having a few problems with the video recordings.  Have yourself a great week!

Jonathan =D