Holding down your six-month-old while he gets a rabies shot.
Yeah.
As per my conversation with a nurse at the health department, we spent 3 hrs at the ER this evening and started a series of rabies injections. But hey, at least LG has a cool bracelet to wear to school tomorrow.
Oh no!
ReplyDeleteI didn't even think about the rabies risk when reading about IVF Kitten's prowess on the hunt.
Poor Tiny Boy. And even more - poor you!
You have my very deepest empathy--because yes, I have been there. I think I wrote a (long) response on this subject when you posted about bats last year. When my younger son was nine months old, he and i had to undergo rabies shots after waking to find a bat in the room. Damn old houses, with their teeny tiny points of entrance and egress.
ReplyDeleteIf my experience is anything to judge by, the shots will get easier, now that the initial battery is over. The main side effects I noticed in my baby were alternating irritability and listlessness; I felt a general malaise for a few days after each shot. By the last few shots, it will mostly just become a hassle to remember the date for the next shot, round everyone up, and get it done.
Oh! One last logistical thought. Because our initial shots were at the ER too, we were able to go back there for all subsequent injections. It actually made it much easier than doing it at our regular doctor's office, since we could go to the ER whenever it was time for another shot. I'd just choose a convenient time--morning or mid-day, when I figured it would be slow at the ER--give them a call to let them know we'd be there in an hour, and show up. If you don't already have a game plan, you might want to check to see if this is an option. It's especially nice with a sporadically napping baby, as mine was too; I hated making advance appointments for ANYTHING.
Ugh.Was hoping you all weren't going to have to go through this. Is it the single or the series? So sorry.
ReplyDeleteOh no! How many shots will he need? I hope everyone is doing ok post-shots!
ReplyDeleteI have heard that those hurt like motherf'rs. Shoot, I'm so sorry. Bat cat is soooooo toast at this point. Toast.
ReplyDeleteHey, folks. Thanks for your good wishes. To answer some questions:
ReplyDeleteIt's a series. The shots we had yesterday, then day 3, 7, and 14. The first is two kinds: immunoglobulin and the actual vaccine, but it's done according to weight. So Tiny Boy had two shots, LG three, and me four (I can't really imagine what it would have been if I'd been a 200 lb man or something!). Doesn't hurt any more than any normal IM injection; hurts a hell of a lot less than PIO.
Heidi, yeah, I remember you posting that. We seem to have the same symptoms going on...I feel like I've got the flu, LG says she's fine, and Tiny Boy is majorly crabby and running a low fever. We were told to schedule our followup appointments at the infusion center (where they usually do chemo, I think), so they're scheduled after school and I guess we'll pick up dinner those nights!
Holy shit, that sucks. To put it eloquently.
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