Vaccinations and our remarkable bodies

This was me, earlier this week. I was having a pretty good day, but in the late afternoon, I suddenly had incredible chills. In the photo I was wearing a sweater and a coat, a heavy wool hat, and huddling under a thick blanket, trying to get the chills under control. My fever gradually climbed through the evening.
About 24 hours earlier, I had received the first COVID vaccination. This was my confirmation that my body had noticed, and was working to respond! Since I already had antibodies from having been exposed to COVID last November, that may have contributed to how I reacted.
Fortunately, after sleeping 9 hours through the night, I felt great the next day.
There are plenty of things in this scenario to #GiveThanks for.
Aren't our bodies remarkable creations? They have the ability to react to microscopic changes, and in MOST cases, are able to create an appropriate response to return to a normal state.
Isn't medical science impressive, in their ability to develop effective solutions to terrible conditions such as the one that caused this global pandemic? A hundred years ago, 50 million people died from a flu pandemic. So far we've lost 2.6 million to the current one. Science has made much progress, and so has the general understanding we have of our bodies and our environment.
And I'm grateful for understanding and supportive family members who helped me through this brief trial!
As terrible as the past year has been, I am grateful that we are on our way to resolving the concerns. We will continue to pray for a return to normal life!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Persistence

Image
  There's a principle of persistence that applies to climbing mountains, but also to many other aspects of life. We all get tired, we "run out of gas," we get frustrated with delays, we despair of reaching our goal, we think the job will never end, we keep waiting for the weather to improve, we become frustrated with "enduring." We give up, and we probably never know if we stopped just short of the point of significant achievement. The most growth often comes at, and after, that point of fatigue. I really appreciate the quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson. It was a favorite of Heber J. Grant and is often attributed to him, but he was quoting Emerson when he spoke it. It makes sense that we get more comfortable and competent at anything we persist in doing. Hard things become easier as we become practiced and proficient. On the other hand, there is sometimes wisdom in not "running faster than we are able." Or running longer than we are able! There comes a po...
Read more

"Sing, Choirs of Angels!"

Image
  "Sing, choirs of angels, Sing in exultation; Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!" "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:13-14) The accounts of the birth of Jesus don't actually say that heavenly choirs of angels were singing when they appeared to the shepherds in the fields. It says "saying," not "singing." But most of us can't read the words they shared without hearing in our minds Handel's arrangement from Messiah. And we often associate singing with the most joyful expression of emotion. That is certainly felt at Christmastime. I love Christmas music and look forward to enjoying it each year during the weeks leading to Christmas. Many of our most favorite carols and hymns are so familiar, but yet so powerful. Through the years I've found several lesser-known Christmas songs that ...
Read more

Sensory memories: juicy pear jelly bellies

Image
  My mother was a fascinating woman, with a broad exposure to the world resulting from extensive and frequent travel. She knew all about various cultures, cuisines, and delicacies. In her later years, she had a series of strokes that made it difficult to remember and communicate. Her world shrank dramatically. I don't recall when she developed a liking for "jelly bellies" - those small, flavorful jelly beans. At some point, I started bringing them to her regularly, usually in the bag of multi-flavor assortments. If her supply ran low, she would remind me, "I need more of those - what are they? - bellies." That was all she remembered. So I would bring her more. She quickly developed a favorite, though. She was always delighted to come across the light green ones with dark green spots among the assortment. I had already developed a preference for the "juicy pear" variety myself, so it was interesting that both of us discovered that liking separately! I ...
Read more