The First Shot - Chapter 10

Don awoke early. Every Saturday he works a shift called 'bell to bell'. Basically it is open to close at the car dealership. He is one of the hardest working people I have ever met and just because he was ill, I knew it would take much more than this to stop him. Along with this determination, he did not want anyone else to know what was going on. Normally a private person, this disease not only carried with it a stigma, but he did not want to be pitied either. He took his first 3 Ribavirin pills with his coffee and out the door he flew.

I checked with him throughout the day and all seemed to be fine. With the research I had done, I knew it was going to be the injection, not the pills that would possibly make him ill. I had everything prepared for when he got home. He had already made me promise that I would give him the shots. Although my former career was as a Surgical Technologist and I had assisted in surgeries from amputations to heart bypasses without incident, the simple thought of giving my beloved husband an injection in the stomach made me feel light headed. I almost had to recite it as an act in a play. Foremost, I did not want him to realize I was nervous.

When I heard him drive up, I went outside to greet him. I did not want him to feel like I was being pushy, but I was relieved when he told me he wanted to take the shot right away and get it over with. I could not have agreed more! We walked upstairs and as he was getting undressed, I prepared the injection.

"Can we do it in the bedroom?" I called out.

"I guess." he said as he stuck his head in the doorway.

It took me a few moments. I retrieved the medicine out of the refrigerator. Carefully took the preloaded syringe out of the box and removed the rubber stopper. The sterilized needle had to be removed from its packaging and placed firmly onto the syringe. I grabbed the alcohol swab and stood there for a moment longer taking a deep breath.

Smiling I walked into the bedroom and sort of carelessly plopped myself down onto the side of our bed.

"Come on over here." I told him."He walked over in front of me and lifted up his t-shirt.

"Where?" he asked.

I positioned him standing right in front of me and told him where I was going to inject him.

He responded with a stiff, "OK." taking a deep breath.

The needle was very short and delicate. I rubbed a small spot with the alcohol pad, pinched his skin a bit and pushed the needle in. I glanced up at his face as I started to inject the Interferon. At the same second I removed the needle, I leaned forward and kissed the sight. I leaned back and smiled saying, "All done! Did it sting?"

"No." he said with relief in his voice. "I didn't even feel it."

"See how good I am!" I responded with a raised eyebrow and a smirk on my face.

Little did he know that my hands were shaking and I was only a second away from passing out!