So I got a lot of grief from some people for enrolling in the bird flu vaccination study. People were telling me that it was stupid for me to put myself at risk, no matter how small, of getting the bird flu. Well, I wasn’t worried. And today, I got vaccinated. I found out that there is absolutely NO risk of me contracting the bird flu because the virus they inject you with is killed. So that should put all the worriers at ease.

I was nervous about the whole ordeal because I knew I would have to get two injections and have my blood drawn. When they took my blood pressure beforehand, it was a little high. My blood pressure is always high when I’m at the doctors’ office. I know that it’s probably because I’m tense and in a new place and not relaxed and all that, but I still worry that I’m going to end up with chronically high blood pressure.

Oh! I also found out that I indeed am not pregnant. (We were required to submit a urine sample for them to test.) Not that I was particularly worried about that due to many reasons, but it’s still comforting to know that no miracles in the vein of Jesus’ birth will be happening in my life at the moment.

The next step after the urine sample and the vital signs was the blood draw. I don’t know why but every time I have my blood drawn, even if it’s just a little bit, I feel weak. I can’t even watch it happening at all; I try to completely distract myself. But I made it through, only to have to get stuck two more times. These vaccines hurt going in, but they didn’t hurt much afterwards. The woman who gave them to me was apparently in training, because she had another lady talking her through the procedure the whole time. I have sympathy for her because I am in training too, but when you’re the subject it’s just not the most comforting thing to hear instructions being given to the one holding the needle.

So the first visit is over with. If anyone is interested in participating in this study (remember it pays $400!), let me know and I can get you the details.

Also, Baylor College of Medicine has other clinical studies going on requiring healthy volunteers, and the UT Health Science Center does as well. Check out their websites if you are interested. I have already signed up to participate in a study where you play computer games while having an MRI done. This may turn out to be my new part-time job!