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Sunday, August 24, 2008

Phobias

Adam has one. He hates needles. He becomes absolutely, irrationally, afraid when one is going to be poked into him.

So--he had to have immunizations before school, which meant three shots. I told the doctor it wouldn't be easy.

In the end, after hauling him out of the bathroom, insisting he sit down, explaining that there was no other way, denying him the privilege of administering the shots himself, it was time.

DJ restrained one leg. The doctor restrained the other. I held Adam's hands and arms in place. One nurse perched above him on the exam table, another knelt next to him on the floor just beneath the exam table nurse, and a third stood on the other side of him.

Adam was allowed to count to three. On three all the nurses injected him at once while DJ, the doctor and I held Adam in place.

As I drove out of the parking lot, Adam said, "That didn't even hurt."

I'm thanking God I don't have to do this again until next year.

5 comments:

  1. I don't mean to laugh at Adam's (non-existent) pain, but picturing that was kind of hilarious.

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  2. Wow! Three shots all at once... I don't think I could do that. I think I'd much rather have them all separate with a bit of breathing time between each one. I don't exactly have phobia like that, but I do need to (1) be told exactly when the shot is going in and (2) make sure I DON'T look at the needle.

    I like the picture you described of everyone it took to hold him down =)

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  3. Tell him to never join the military. My hubby has horror stories about all the shots they give you in the service. I don't have the shot fear any more but got plenty of others so I can relate.

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  4. At least he's not like Miki's superhero friend who has one weakness after all her immunizations...she can only be brought down by Japanese Encephalitis...

    Maybe this painless experience will help get rid of the phobia?

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  5. I remember being held down something like that when I was a kid and I think all the doctor wanted to do was put some salve on a scraped knee (though it must have been worse than a scraped knee or I wouldn't have been at the doctor's). I still don't like needles.

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