Severe Nervous System Disorders and Digital Cameras . . . Both Things I Don't Have. Yet.

Two weeks from tonight I will be sleeping in the Washington DC area, preparing for my morning flight to Ethiopia!! I've spent the last few days giddy with excitement! I can hardly wait to leave for Ethiopia! On Wednesday I went to the community health clinic to get my vaccinations. I had to get my second Hepatitis A, a polio booster, and yellow fever. I also had to get some pills because the vaccination for Typhoid is a series of 4 pills taken orally over 8 days (one every other day). Who knew? I thought all vaccinations were injectable. But, I suppose I'm not really old enough to remember the days when they gave oral polio vaccinations -- although come to think of it, that is probably how I got it as a baby!

So imagine me . . . the nurse . . . sitting in the little exam room at the health clinic. The nurse has handed me vaccination information papers and I'm sitting there wondering if this is such a good idea. I scan the yellow fever sheet. "What are the risks from the yellow fever vaccine? . . . Life threatening severe illness with major organ system failure (approximately 1 reported per 200,000 - 300,000 doses . . .) . . . More than half the people who suffer these effects die". Whoa! I never like to see the word "die" on a vaccination information sheet! I'll take the redness, swelling, and pain at the injection site, thank you! I distinctly remember thinking as I sat there that getting vaccinated gave me the same feeling I get when I go on a roller coaster. I know in my mind that thousands of other people have done this before me and they've all been safe so what are the chances that something bad will happen to me? Then I tell myself I'm crazy for defying death in the first place by allowing my body to be flung upside down in the air (or by voluntarily letting someone inject diseases into my body). I even sat there and imagined myself getting some sort of horrible nervous system failure and ending up on a ventilator in some ICU. Good grief. I'm half embarrased to admit that. You know what it all comes down to? God is in control of my life. Period. I do things to protect myself and the body He has given me, but in the long run, it isn't getting the vaccination (or not getting the vaccination out of fear) that is going to determine what happens to me. My Heavenly Father is the one in charge. And you know what is even better? He is worthy of our trust. Even if I did end up on a ventilator, the Lord would still be just as loving, just as in control, and just as worthy to be trusted. As a friend said to me today, "And that is a comfort". Yes, indeed it is.

You have to refrigerate the typhoid vaccine pills. You should also probably know that it is a little funky to have a package in your refrigerator that says, "1 dose contains . . . live attenuated Salmonella typhi strain Ty21a". Aren't you supposed to get rid of stuff in your fridge that has salmonella? ;)

And I know you're all itching to know if I had some sort of reaction. I do have a 1-inch diameter red spot around the yellow fever injection site, but I'm not really sore. And I didn't end up with any debilitating nervous system diseases. Nor did I end up with organ failure. Or death . . . that would just be weird if I was writing this dead. Okay, maybe I need some sleep. This post is getting long, boring, and downright strange.

If you actually really had the courage to keep reading this, I congratulate you. In other news, I've been camera shopping. I am a miniature clone of my father. I made an Excel spreadsheet that had columns for all the different features I wanted in a camera. I took it with me when I went camera shopping so I could fill in the prices, megapixels, zoom, battery type, charger, memory card, etc. I went shopping on Monday and did some scouting and then went back again this evening. It has been a hard decision to make, but I finally have it narrowed down to these two cameras.

Canon PowerShot SX120


Canon PowerShot A2000


I like the features of the SX120 a little better, but it bigger than I really want it to be. I really need something small and lightweight that can be of benefit when it needs to fit into a carry-on that cannot weigh very much. I'm going to decide for sure tomorrow, but I'm leaning towards the A2000.

Since this post has probably severely insulted your intelligence, allow me to share a little something from Charles Spurgeon that a good friend posted on Facebook today:

"If Christ be anything, he must be everything. Oh, rest not till love and faith in Jesus be the master passions of your soul!" ~ Charles Spurgeon