Flu Shots and a Crazy Day

I asked our doctor about flu shots when I saw her last Friday, and she said to get them as soon as possible. She said if there’s a bad flu season we could always pay to get a second one around February. She also said they would have the senior dose in this week.

So I phoned Wednesday to ask, and they said they wouldn’t be getting the vaccine in before the middle of October. So when we went grocery shopping Wednesday night, we asked the pharmacy about getting our shots there. The gal said they had them, but we would have to schedule our shots online. We did that that night and scheduled them for yesterday at 5:30 and 5:35. We could have asked for a few weeks later, but we try to keep our lives simple and wanted the shots to be off our list.

There was a bit of a complication. Andy has been having a weird symptom from time to time…his index finger and thumb would get numb, then the sensation would lessen but would spread to his other fingers and up his arm. After about ten or fifteen minutes it would go away. It didn’t happen very often until Thursday. Then it occurred several times, including as he was climbing up the stairs when he came home. He decided it was time to go to the doctor.

So he went to the office yesterday morning, and it turned out they had a cancellation around ten. The doctor took it seriously and said he needed an MRI as soon as possible. So he went down and waited until they could fit him in, then they scanned for about an hour and half, looking for various things. When they finished Andy went back to the doctor’s office as they had asked him to. They were going to have him wait until the radiologist’s report came, but by then it was about 3 P.M. and he said he hadn’t eaten (and he was aware of the scheduled flu shots), so they said he could leave and they would phone later.

When they phoned they said the results didn’t show any cancer or stroke, but the doctor saw something that looked funny and was going to phone a neurologist to set up a future appointment.

That was more than enough for one day, and at least we got the flu shots off the list. The adventure continues.

This entry was posted in Life As a Shared Adventure. Bookmark the permalink.

24 Responses to Flu Shots and a Crazy Day

  1. Ginny Hartzler says:

    Oh my. I will be praying for him. Please continue to update us on this. I know how hard it is to wait.

    • Jean says:

      Thank you. It’s an ongoing issue, so it won’t be resolved. We’re not wasting time worrying about it, we’re just gathering more information where we can.

  2. tammy j says:

    hope all is well.
    it’s admirable how you both take care of things immediately.
    I’m bad about that and taking a lesson here.
    I know you’ll keep us updated. sending love to you both. xoxo

  3. nick says:

    “Something that looked funny”. I hope it’s nothing serious.

  4. Hootin' Anni says:

    First thing I thought of was stroke! Good knowing it wasn’t tho…but, now what? Something that concerns the doctor?…scary. I’d be a nervous wreck.

    Best to you both.

    • Jean says:

      I’m surprised they said that about strokes, too. In a previous MRI they said they could see that Andy had had mini strokes. We’ll have to see.

  5. MadSnapper says:

    prayers for the something to not be anything, just something that looks funny. glad you got the flu shots, we always get ours the end of august but Publix has no sent the papers to tell us to come get them. maybe they don’t have the senior dose yet also….

  6. Ann Thompson says:

    That was some day you had. Hearing that “something looked funny” would have my brain going crazy until the tests were done. Hope all goes well.

    • Jean says:

      Thanks. Andy has had mini strokes, a brain bleed, and a carotid dissection (which may or may not have healed itself), so this didn’t come as a shock. We’re not worrying, we’re just trying to do the right things.

  7. Wow, hope Andy’s doctor gets to the bottom of this ASPS.

    Great information about the flu shots. Thanks for sharing. I’m going to try to get one next week.

  8. Myra Guca says:

    An adventure, indeed! So glad the doc was able to see him right away, as was the MRI facility. Same building?
    Prayers lifted while you wait. (Waiting is the worst!)

    • Jean says:

      Thanks. The doctor’s office is in one part of the medical center. It used to be connected by a hallway, but now because of COVID Andy had to go back outside and come in the main entrance to the hospital. There they do a cool thing, they ask you the usual questions and take your temperature, then put a green band around your wrist. It’s wide enough to be easily seen so is simple and effective.

  9. agree with everyone – hope the “something looks funny” get sorted…

    as for the flu’ shot affair, I had the run around back in April here in NZ (same season, different time frame) ended up getting it done at the pharmacy with a whole lot less stress.

    • Jean says:

      Thanks. We learned last year the pharmacy was a more reliable source of flu shots, but we thought we would give the doctor’s clinic a chance.

  10. The OP Pack says:

    Glad you got the flu shots. Andy’s problem – maybe a pinched nerve? Hope it isn’t anything too serious.

    • Jean says:

      We’re guessing it’s more serious than that. The doctor said she may prescribe Brilinta to replace the Plavix he’s taking…we looked it up, of course, and the makers of Brilinta say people who have had bleeding in the brain (which Andy had two years ago) shouldn’t take it. Presumably that’s one reason she’s sending him to the neurosurgeon. There’s a balance between preventing blood clots and causing too much bleeding. Again, thank goodness for the internet so we can do research and think about what’s going on.

  11. Rose says:

    I do hope the ‘something funny’ is more like the doctors thinking wrong. Mistakes happen.

    I need to see about Roger’s flu shot…honestly thinking about it for myself this year.

Comments are closed.