On Friday I picked up the girls from school and we schlepped over to Seafront to get our annual TB check.
The boys had received their shots the week before and both had come back normal. This time the girls and I were ready. Katherine spoke incessantly on the car ride over about how she really didn't like the TB test. That and finger pricks were "the absolute worst" and she would rather have her blood drawn. She got so worked up she was on the verge of tears. The boys had done wonderful and tried to reassure her that it did hurt but it wasn't bad. And she'd get candy. Rebecca was nervous and wanted me to go first, but in the end did just fine as well.
When the nurse called, we were ready. The thing was, Katherine didn't have to get the test at all. Because of last year's positive reaction followed by the course of INH, she is now branded CONVERTED on her medical folder. Once a positive, always a positive. She will perpetually carry the potential for the disease in her blood.
Katherine was thrilled. She couldn't resist rubbing it in to all her siblings that she would never have to get that shot again and we would, nyah nyah. No amount of discussion could convince her that it was actually worse to -have- those nasty TB germs in her body (and the six months of daily drugs she'd had to take), than to get a little bump on her arm once a year. Nope, she got out of there without a shot and was bouncing with joy.
There's a silver lining to everything.
No comments:
Post a Comment