I'm huddled up in a chair in the corner of the doctor's office. The smell of sanitizer and wax paper surrounds me.
I'm not alone, my mom and sister Daria are in the doorway. Eileen, the nurse who has been giving me vaccinations for as long as I can remember, has her back towards me as she fixes up two HPV vaccinations for me and my sister. Another woman I've never seen is standing right next to Eileen and I start getting nervous
This can't be happening to me. I'm 14 years old, no one freaks out about shots when they're 14 years old. If I get a cartoon band aid, I think I'll be ok.
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Worries keep going through my mind.
My poor arm, I spent months getting this muscle from cross-country and dance PE ... And now, just like that, it will be punctured? no, No, NO!
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A woman with grey hair and round glasses walks up to my mom and looks right at me.
"Hey! Are these your girls?," she says to my mom. "Man, are they grown up!"
I have no idea who this woman is.
My mom explains that Judy was my nurse when I was a baby.
"Give your daughter a hug. This is one of the few times you get to hug her at this age!" Judy smiles at my mom, who smiles back. But my mom does not get the message.
Judy gives me an ice pack to numb my arm and puts her arm around me.
"Everything will be ok. It's just a little pinch," she whispers.
My sister sits down in a chair in front of me in preparation for her shot. She's two years younger than me, but as I'm freaking out, she's just smiling and laughing, telling me that it won't hurt at all.
"Ok, I will give Daria the shot at the same time as you get yours," Eileen says.
This can only mean one thing, that, I'm not getting vaccinated by Eileen or Judy, but by the new girl, who for all I know has no experience at all.
Five, four, three, two...
I count down to myself.
Suddenly, I feel something touch my arm. I scream. But as I look over, I realize that it was just the cleansing wipe on my arm.
"I'll tell you when you're about to get your shot," Judy smiles.
I am told that its about to happen and I close my eyes.
I feel a pinch and look at my arm. The new girl puts on a band aid with cartoons on it, my favorite.
"Thank you," I say to Judy, Eileen, and to the new girl.
