A Shot in the Dark

Did you know that it's been 14 years since I last had a tetanus shot? I didn't either but I found that out today. In order to go to grad school I need to have all of my shots updated, kind of like a cat getting adopted from the humane society. Little did I know that it's actually somewhat difficult to figure out your immunization history if you don't visit the doctor regularly.

My day started when I stopped at the Luther Midelfort clinic in downtown to pick up a copy of my immunization history. After being sent from one part of the clinic/hospital complex to another (at one point I ended up in the HR department) I finally found out that, according to Luther clinic, I don't have any record of immunizations in Eau Claire. That sent me panicking somewhat because in 15 days I have to have my history on file at the U of Illinois or otherwise I can't enroll in the fall.

Luckily my parents knew where I could find the information. Thank God for parents! I had to call a clinic in Eagan, MN and they mailed my records out today. In the meantime I found out that it's been 14 years since I had a tetanus shot. The U of I wants one within the past 10 years, so I made an appointment for this afternoon. So after running around this morning to get my information, and then hitting some golf balls this afternoon, I went in for my shot. It was actually pretty quick and easy. It didn't even hurt as much as I thought it would.

Now everything should be on track for all of the medical history paperwork I need to submit. I'm still waiting to see what classes to register for and some other pertinent information but at least I won't be dropped from the program because I didn't get my shots!