The Second Vaccine

 Thursday March 4, 2021. Day 88

We got up early and left for Hialeah at 6:50am. It was an easy trip on Interstate 75 (Alligator Alley). There was lots of traffic from Fort Myers Beach to Naples but after Naples, the traffic was quite light until we got close to Hialeah. We arrived about a half hour early (9:15am). It was our second vaccine and the check-in was easy. The woman just looked at our driver's licenses and we showed her our card with the documentation of our first vaccine.

Alfredo, the pharmacist, modified our cards to include the second vaccine information. This was Alfredo's first second shot so he didn't know for sure how best to add the information. He decided to apply a sticker; we were fine with whatever he preferred. He gave us each our vaccine, we sat for 15 minutes, and Roland toured the supermarket.

We really didn't need very much (we had already purchased chicken soup in preparation for our reaction), but Roland is a foodie and he likes to see what is available wherever we go. Hialeah is a Hispanic area. In fact, Roland and I were the only people speaking English (except for employees who spoke to us). Of course, although needing nothing, Roland still found some good bargains and interesting fruits for us to take back to the boat in preparation for our vaccine reaction.

For the 30 minutes we were in the supermarket, we observed one of the patrons who apparently was using the air-conditioned supermarket as his exercise track. He cycled the market several times, just walking, and no cart. And I loved his outfit. He was wearing all red: red sneakers, red high socks, shiny red basketball shorts that came below his knees, and a red T-shirt. His ensemble was topped off with a brown straw hat, narrow in the front, that I associate with sports car drivers from the 1950s. He was adorable.....and, keeping fit. Unfortunately, he didn't wear a mask and no one said anything!

With our updated vaccine cards, and interesting fruit, we got back in the rental car and started the trip west, back to the boat. On the way, we stopped in the Pembroke Gardens area and met my high school friend, Barbara, for a celebratory lunch, outside at a sushi restaurant. I was elated, vaccine done, and we didn't have to go to the panhandle! We would be back at the boat long before and reaction set in.

After a fun lunch and visit, and with some guidance from Barbara, we went to Bagelmania to get some whitefish salad and bagels, and I couldn't resist, I also bought two giant muffins (one chocolate fudge and one pistachio....Roland loves pistachio so I knew he would enjoy the surprise). We then had to drive to Naples (which was not much out of the way), for me to pick up a prescription which I had originally ordered for Naples thinking that was where we would be today.

The pharmacy staff at Walgreens in Naples was really helpful. I had to work with my insurance company for them to allow me to get the 90 day prescription; they felt I was getting the medication 13 days earlier than they thought I should get it. I had no idea where we were going next or when I would be able to get off the boat or would be near a Walgreens (my insurance company's chosen pharmacy). This was not an opioid; this was absurd. Health care in this country needs an overhaul!

Because I didn't want to wait inside the store, I was in and out of Walgreens several times to make calls to the insurance company to work things out. On one of my many trips in and out of Walgreens, I found $70 in cash on the floor. I took the money to the pharmacist who looked aghast and backed away from the counter. She called the manager, who immediately came to her side with an assistant, and the three of them could not believe that I was returning the $70. There is no way for me to know who dropped it, nobody was around when I walked by, and I was hoping someone realized they dropped it in Walgreens, and calls and gets their money back. I assumed that they have security cameras all over the store and they could actually determine the owner. Otherwise, I hope Walgreens will give it to charity.

After we returned the rental car and took an uber back to the marina, we took a brief walk around Fort Myers Beach and decided that it was a little too touristy for us. It was packed, it was spring break, and not a single person was wearing a mask.

We went back to the boat, had a very late dinner and prepared for our vaccine reaction. We hydrated, put the ibuprofen close by, and continued our alcohol abstinence.

Friday, March 5, 2021. Day 89.

I was up a couple of times during the night (I had hydrated pretty heavily), and I woke up at 6:30am, with a slight headache, took two ibuprofen and went back into bed. I was totally unable to move for two hours; I was really tired. Roland had some chills but said it was not too bad. We had planned nothing for today and tomorrow, not knowing how we would react. We had heard how seriously some folks had reacted to the second vaccine.

We were pretty lucky; our reaction was mild. I did some laundry and went for a walk. Roland planned the next segment of our cruise. Unfortunately the weather would not permit us to go to Naples (the Gulf was too choppy for me), so we would have to go back across Lake Okeechobee to Stuart, and head to the Keys from the east coast. Roland had a lot of work to do to make all the new arrangements.

For the last few months, our lives were dominated by the availability of the vaccine and the weather. Now, it is just the weather. When cruising, the weather runs our life.

Around 6pm, I felt like I hit a wall. I was exhausted, really tired. But I forced myself to stay up until 8:15pm, in hopes that I would not wake up in the middle of the night, unable to go back to sleep.

Unfortunately, it was “Friday Night” as the boater in the marina explained to us when we asked him to lower his blasting music; to him it was party time, and we were real party poopers!

But.......we were saved by our vaccine reaction: so tired, we fell asleep anyway. Tired and happy; vaccinated and relieved!