March is upon us and I am hopeful that it will be a much-needed stepping stone to better days ahead. We certainly deserve it because everyone has had such a tough year.
Hopefully Better Days Will Lie Ahead With the Vaccine Rollout
A lot of hope, right now, comes in the form of a vaccine for Covid-19. I feel so fortunate that scientists have worked hard in producing, not just one, but several vaccines.
In the UK, the JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccine and Immunisation) have set out a schedule for vaccinating every adult in the country. They have made a priority list to ensure those who need it most get it soonest. I fell into Group six and am happy to say that I had my vaccination on the first of March.
My Covid Vaccination Experience
I received an appointment from NHS Scotland to attend a local sports centre for my vaccination. The appointment went very smoothly and I was in and out of the vaccine hall quickly.
I was fine that night, with no sore arm or headache as many people have reported. The following morning when I woke up my back pain was pretty bad and I was a bit headachy. However, that’s very normal for me, so I couldn’t say whether or not it was related to having had the vaccine. As the day went on, my joints, muscles and bones were aching. But, at the risk of sounding like Tom Jones, it’s not unusual for me to feel like that.
One of the joys of being used to living with constant pain is that it is often difficult to recognise new pain, so it was hard to know whether or not I was experiencing side effects. However, by late afternoon, I knew that it was related to the vaccine as I had flu-ish, kind of shivery, achiness everywhere and became very tired. I wrapped myself in my duvet, hugged hot water bottles and fell asleep.
At 4am the following morning, I woke up feeling fine. Well, by fine I mean that I just had my normal everyday type of pain. All of the other symptoms had gone. I did have quite a rough day, but really not too much worse than a normal day.
Hopefully, as the weeks and months go on and more people are vaccinated, we will start to find some normality in life again.
Hopefully Spring Will Also Bring Better Days Ahead
As I said, the vaccination has given me hope of better days ahead. Now, I want the weather to do likewise.
I need Spring. I need it now, but where I live, Spring arrives later than everywhere else. But I am desperate to see bright yellow daffodils blooming in my garden. I need some colour and cheerfulness back in life. Spring brings hope that life can get better.
It’s not been the best winter. Our weather in Scotland tends to be a bit unpredictable, but the last few weeks have been quite nasty. We’ve experienced temperatures as low as -18℃, had a lot of snow, a lot of rain and galeforce winds. The high winds have taken the roof off a shed and kept disrupting our internet signal.
We live in a very rural area where we can’t get normal telephone broadband. Instead, we have satellite broadband which works fairly well most of the time but it really, really doesn’t like bad weather. It coped with some of the snow, but the galeforce winds knocked the satellite dish off course which resulted in me having a very sketchy internet signal.
Like many people with chronic health problems, the internet is my connection with the rest of the world. When it doesn’t work, I have very twitchy fingers. There are plenty of other things I could do with my time, but when the broadband breaks down, it feels like there’s been a tragedy in my house.
So hopefully, now that we’re into March, the worst of the weather is over and my connection becomes more stable.
I hope you’re looking forward to Spring too. Have you had your Covid-19 vaccine yet? If so, how did it go?
Thank you for sharing your experience regarding the vaccine. I am always interested reading about someone else’s experience as I await mine.
I have mixed feelings about it, but as time has gone on reading other people’s, I will choose to have it when the time comes.
I am looking forward to spring. Its lovely that the sun is out today.
Thanks for commenting, Liz. I have heard many varying reports of side effects. Some people I know had no side effects at all, others a sore arm for a couple of days, and some with aches and pains. I hope that you are one of the ones who gets no side effects. I really hope that life can get back on track soon.
Oh yes, I feel a bit lost if our Internet goes down. I love having access to the outside world from my bed! I’m so glad to hear you’ve had your vaccination. I’ve been vaccinated too, along with my husband which I was very very happy about. And yes, hoorah for Spring. It arrives a little early here down in the East of England. A chance to sit outside will be lovely. Let’s hope the gradual easing of restrictions works country wide. Penny 💙💕
I’m glad you’ve had yours too, Penny. and your husband. Still waiting and hoping my husband gets word of his soon. Enjoy spring. (As I type this, we are in the midst of another hurricane by the sound of it!)
Not sure if you my comment posted, Liz. But very glad to hear you have been vaccinated.
“…but when the broadband breaks down, it feels like there’s been a tragedy in my house.” 😂 I would be continually having a meltdown if I lived where you do!
I’m so glad you’ve had your first vaccination. I know we spoke about it by email but it’s great you’ve recapped your experience here as it does help getting a feel for what others have been through, especially for those who’re still waiting for their vaccinations. Let’s hope those brighter days aren’t too far away. It’s so easy to feel disheartened and to not be able to picture normality returning, but we have to hold on to hope, always 💜
Caz xx
Oh, it’s a nightmare having a dodgy internet connection, Caz. Most of the time, it works fine, but during stormy weather (like right now) it becomes very sporadic.
I heaved a big sigh of relief when I was given my vaccination. I’ll heave a bigger one when hubby gets his. I think he should hear next week.
Yes, we need to hold on to hope. Where would we be without it?
I’m glad you’ve managed to get your first vaccine dose and didn’t suffer too badly. I had mine early February, was similar to you with the headache and chills, but nothing to put me off the second dose. That’s if they remember me, I don’t have a date yet and am a little concerned.
I too cannot wait for spring and sunshine and getting outside a bit more. I’ve been terrible at going out these past few month, I hate the cold and currently have no reason to venture out in it.
Sending you strong WiFi vibes!