Just an Entirely Normal Phone Call
When Eli 21.9 calls and asks for something, it's not a recipe or an oil change or anything mundane."Dad, I need help getting the second dose of a Japanese encephalitis vaccine, and I have to do it today," he said when he called on Saturday morning.
Nothing fazes me anymore.
"On it," I said. I hit Google and started calling every healthcare provider on the list who came up in the search results. On the third call, I found a sympathetic woman who pointed me to Walgreens. I was on the phone, waiting for the pharmacist, when I got this text:
I've got a lead. Walgreens.
It was definitely a lead, after after walking the pharmacy employee through what happened, he had a vaccine in thirty minutes. The all-hands-on-deck alert was lifted.
If you're wondering, he got the first dose of the vaccine 28 days ago. At that time, the university health center scheduled his follow-up appointment, but forgot that after graduation, the clinic was closed on Saturdays. He showed up for his second dose, the clinic was closed, and alarm ensued, because he had to have that vaccine (with proof) to get into Vietnam.
When he told the story to the woman at Walgreen's, she responded with an obscenity (she's dealt with this before) and asked him for proof of his previous dose. He couldn't quite do that, but was able to show her his appointment four weeks earlier at the health center, which supported his story.
Close enough. Vaccine and certification given.
It's much easier to find a dose of Japanese encephalitis vaccine than yellow fever vaccine, by the way, which was January's crisis.
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