H1N1 Injections

I was halfway through my class, when all of a sudden I heard a few short words mumbled over the intercom. A wave of terror immediately flooded over my students, and I knew it was finally time for all of them to get their H1N1 injections. I couldn’t help but smile (yes, I know I’m evil) as they obediently stood up, and walked in single file (shaking the whole way) to the library.

All of the teachers in the school had come to watch. They lined the walls of the library and silently observed as the students were “herded” by nurses with sharp needles. There were no lines, no seats, and no reassurance…just pure chaos.

Three nurses were in charge of vaccinating my entire school (twenty-three students), and they did so in the most traumatic way I’ve ever seen. The kids, terrified, huddled together in the center of the room, while the nurses walked around with exposed needles. They checked the kids’ arms for puncture marks, and if they didn’t have one… WAHBAM! They’d slam the injection into their arm, squeeze the plunger, pull out, put a small piece of gauze on the wound, throw out the needle, open a new one, and resume their hunt for their next “victim”.

Some of my kids attempted to escape the injections by staying on the opposite side of the mass of students, but they were quickly snatched up by watchful teachers and held until the nurses made their way over.

I have a feeling that some of them are going to have some pretty horrible nightmares tonight…

- Ken