I feel a little bit like the guy in The Martian that counted down days. It's been 302 days since my regular life was directly affected/changed/altered by the pandemic. I'm still able to keep my part time job, it is both tiring while trying to work as well as rewarding, since it allows me to use my mind and be productive. Most days, I'm able to work from home, but I've been going into campus to help with a research study and meet with patients. In December, I filled out a survey indicating if I would take the Coronavirus vaccine if offered. My health system did not make it mandatory, but of course I answered "yes".
On January 2nd, I received my first dose from Pfizer. The shot was very easy compared to other IM shots I've received. I hung out for 20 minutes after my shot and used this time to enroll in the CDC side effect tracker via my phone. After I received it, I went to my office that I hadn't been in since March 13th and grabbed some items from my desk. I headed home and approximately 2.5 hours later I started to feel shaky and strange. First I had some chills, which I put on a second sweatshirt and three blankets. Then one episode of diarrhea. My family was playing board games which was a good distraction, but my husband encouraged me to lie down (WOW! I never get naps!). At one point I felt feverish, but it passed. My arm would occasionally have stabs of pain and started to get angry. I did more sitting around than when I have in ages. I definitely felt I was coming down with something. By 10:30 that night I felt much, much better. The next day I had a moderate fatigue along with the next few days and arm pain. On the fourth day the pain/muscle spasms moved into my shoulder which necessitated Tylenol, with relief.
Today is Day 9 and I still have a little fatigue - mild, and tightness in the arm muscle. It's all totally manageable and I feel incredibly fortunate to get the vaccine and obviously, have an immune response. My second dose is scheduled for January 23rd.
