My son is off for his second rabies shot this afternoon. On Friday he went for the first batch - he got seven of them! Two in each hip, one in each thigh and one in his upper arm. From now on he just has to get the one in the arm. But that is one in the arm once a week until September 5. Yikes! Poor guy!
This all started because he slept over at a friend's place last Sunday. Apparently there was a bat in the house but they couldn't find it until Tuesday when the cat killed it. The Mom called the health unit worried about the cat getting rabies even though it had it's shots. When she called she was told that everyone who had slept in the house when the bat was there needed rabies shots. Now when she called me I thought she was insane! My son never even saw the bat. Well then the health unit called me and told me that bats can bite you in your sleep and you won't feel it and because they have such tiny razor sharp teeth it will not even leave a visible mark. I was still thinking this was nuts and when Andy was required to get his Hepatitis shot he had a bad reaction so I was quite worried about getting more shots especially if he didn't really need it. I called our doctor and she told me that he absolutely had to get the shots as it is true you can be bitten by a bat in your sleep and not know it. She said there is no reaction to the rabies shots but if he didn't get them and he was bitten he would die....SO he got them.
How awful! Who would have believed that this would happen? I am just so grateful that we have good health care in Canada and we do not have to pay for the shots and also that they are not like the used to be and not in the stomach as I had feared.
So the moral of the story is if you have a bat in your house over night or you find one in your house in the morning you will be needing rabies shots!
Hoping this never happens to you!
Blessings,
Liisa
By the way fall is the best time to block up holes where bats get in. For a bit more info. I found this article helpful since we have an attic full of bats that that will be getting locked out this fall!
4 comments:
Oh my goodness!!! ick ick ick....gave me the willy nillies. Poor guy. We don't see too many bats here....just a few at dusk if we are lucky. We did find one in the pasture but it was dead. We have HUGE owls....I'm talking 3 ft. owls....that ripped our poor little chickens from their roost in the coop...arrrgggghhhh. Yeah, we envy your medical system....that round of shots would probably cost us about $1500.00 We pay $1500 A MONTH for health care...and my husband is a teacher!!!
Oh my goodness! 3 ft. That is a monster owl!!! That would scare me alot more than a wee little bat rabies or no rabies!
I am so glad we did not have to pay for the shots. $1500 a month for health care? That is so hard to imagine. My Mum and Dad just moved to B.C. and I think they pay $50 a month. We live in Ontario and don't pay anything.
Blessings,
Liisa
Oh, we could probably be debt free if we didn't have to pay for medical insurance. Are you originally from Canada? Do you feel like you get good care? Around here, the dr's you could go to for FREE are scums....just doing whatever it takes to keep overcharging the government to NOT do their jobs. My husband and girls could get free medical w/ the Cherokee Indians...but I keep hearing HORROR stories of little things KILLING people....scares me.
That is scary! I am originally from Canada We have a dotor shortage here so we have to drive to a town 20 minutes away and I am always able to see the same nurse practioner and when I need an actual doctor I see the same one each time. I have been able to get into specialists within a month and have ultrasounds and other tests within the week. So the care is very good. There are a few doctors around here too though that are quick fix guys who don't pay attention to what you are telling them and just throw medicine at you, unfortunately my Mother in law has one of those.
I imagine you go to the doctor much less frequently when you have to pay for it. I think part of the problem here with over worked doctors is that some people just go to the doctor for every tiny little thing because they do not have to pay for it - they even go to the emergency room for a cold. But it is such security to know that no matter what my child can get medical care.
Blessings,
Liisa
Post a Comment