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Day two of skipping and I don't feel at all guilty for it.
I dunno what this latest plague is called but it takes it's own sweet time coming and going. I think tomorrow I will head back to class for the lecture and discussion in Art history. At just under an hour and a half I should do okay and be able to get home and collapse before I spew plague germ on every one. Tonights color and process is a no go, I still have a hell of a cough and it produces those nasty chewable snot globs at random intervals. Nothing quite like trying to finish a drawing when the person next to you is busy hacking up globetts of lung into a paper towel. I may survive the short class with meds but not the three hour one.
Last night Seth got home early and curled up on my studio floor in the pillow corner to keep me company. We both fell asleep there for an hour or better and then crawled down to bed for another twelve hours. Glad of the company, wish I had the opportunity to do anything but sleep.
We learned the fun way about IM shots. The training appointment to teach us how to give him his shots went well despite being an hour away and eight in the morning. The nurse had a little piece of simulated skin to play with that we shot up with water a few times. We got pamphlets and would have gotten a lollipop if the VA was anything like a normal Doctors office. You can just tell this building up to something can't you? Well not to disappoint...
The way you do an Intramuscular shot it this...Sterilize every thing. The top of your vial, your hands, the bit of you getting the shot, the surrounding area, the dog, the neighbors gerbil. Remove the syringe from it's plastic cocoon, remove the needle from it's plastic cocoon. No they don't come screwed together that would be too easy. Attach the two at the attachment point (making sure to sterilize the air they might have touched) and remove the needle cap. Draw up the recommended dosage of your meds and making sure to keep it sterile set down your needle. Scrub up the soon to be offended area with an alcohol swab and phoo on it to dry the alcohol so that you don't feel the sting of a disinfectant when you jab an inch long needle into your thigh. (I found this a little suspect but who am I to judge?) Taking stock of your anatomy chose the largest muscle on your thigh to administer the shot. Seth is a little spoilt for choice with thighs like bridge girders but he managed to pick one. Grab up a handful of muscle and pinch it into a mound. Dart the needle into said mound and pushing the syringe hub firmly into the skin administer the serum. Release the muscle mound and slowly draw out the needle while pressing a piece of gauze or similar onto the injection site to stop any leakage.
We had a text book experience right up to that last bit. Someone was still half asleep and being rather strong had taken the jab it in firmly direction a bit too literally. He nicked a feeder vein and keeping the muscle under pressure yanked the needle out and managed to make nice black arterial blood fountain out of the puncture all over the nice clean floor. He was a little surprised, the nurse was considerably surprised and I just went for the towels. Only my baby would figure out how to make a messy mess with nothing but sterile equipment.
The rest of today is for couch. I plan to alternate between napping, art history, working on the monochromatic drawing, and napping. Mostly napping. Lots of napping.