I am still having trouble with accessing my blog from home but was able to do so with no problems from work the other day! This post is from home and the tool bar is almost useless! Good job I know what the icons are and can recognize them from the very tiny bit of them I can see.
I'd love to put a big picture here of a needle but have run out of "istock" credits. As a teacher, I am very aware of copyright restrictions and had several emails with "istock photos" about how to source their pictures. The last thing I want in this process is to have somebody catch me posting images without permission. This warning kind of goes along a bit with a recent post on the Cinnamon Baby blog. "istock" is amazing and has photos of almost anything you could imagine. Those of you photographers can open an account and put your photos up, after they've been approved, and then when people like me download them you get some kind of royalty.
I have been to the travel clinic again tonight! Another $440!!!!! I am not blogging about the cost of the adoption process as it is something I don't think everybody needs to know. However, I don't mind sharing the cost privately with people who are sincerely interested. However, the cost of shots came as a big shock and one I hadn't really budgeted for. I won't take any more out of my nest egg to pay for them as what I have left is the money I need to travel and some money towards staying home for the 35 weeks of EI. By the way EI is close to $400 a week! It doesn't even pay the rent so I am working hard to grow my nest egg. In the mean time I have been putting the cost of these shots on my VISA and just trying to pay them. I will be claiming them on my 2012 income tax return as I am unable to claim them on my extended health plan at work.
To travel to my daughter's tropical country I have needed the following shots, this is prior to the prescription medication for Malaria and Traveller's diarrhoea.
Shots required and cost in CAN $
** Consultation with travel clinic doctor - $45
Twinrex A & B - first shot $80
MMR booster (measles, mumps, rubella) - free
Tetanus - didn't need it as mine is 2 years old from a dog bite but free
Twinrex A & B - second shot $80
Typhoid - $40.00
Rabies shot #1 - $200
Rabies shot#2 - $200
Yellow Fever - $125
Dukoral (traveller's diarrhoea and cholera) - $75
Florastor - $40
Rabies shot #3 - $200 (May 9th)
Twinrex A & B - $80 (my guess, at the end of August)
A total of $1,165 before I even fill the two prescriptions. I also need two more prescriptions from my GP, one for antibiotics just in case I need it. I have had a number of people tell me to travel with this. And the other, the pill for that female infection, again preventative, but good to have on hand just in case it also rears its ugly little head while I'm away.
The MMR is good for life and I have been told when I get the third Twinrex shot at the end of August the Hep A & B is good for life. The Typhoid is good for 2 years. The Dukoral (two oral doses) is good for cholera for 2 years and for traveller's diarrhoea three months and the Yellow Fever is good for 10 years. I have a certificate of vacination in my immunization to show proof upon entrance to my child's country. With all of this, if everything goes as planned, I will only need the Dukoral and Florastor when I travel again.
A note about the rabies: I have been told to assume all animals in my daughter's country have rabies! That is all the wild dogs, monkeys in the parks, etc!!!! I love animals and have many canine and feline friends. However, close to two years ago walking at Iona Point, a German Sheppard lunged at my arm hungry for dinner! It was a totally unprovoked attack and has made me leery around big dogs. T and L if you are reading this, I love your Sheppard's. Trixie is as soft as can be! Zeeva and Murphy, I love you too! Anyway, the doctor at the travel clinic said for the first trip of 10 days, I probably didn't need the shots, but for the second trip that could be up to three months, she would definitely recommend them. I accepted that and put it aside but about two weeks ago I reread the health section in the travel book for my country and then checked on-line. If I have three shots and then have an incident down there I only need two more shots (one right away and the other on day 3) which I should be able to get in country. If I don't have any shots, I need four shots plus the immune globulin or serum. The first shot and the immune globulin need to be given right away. As many of these developing countries don't have the serum so you are forced to leave a.s.a.p. As I am not going on holiday, but rather the journey of a lifetime so to speak, I will be in no position to leave! Thus, I sucked up the cost and went for the shots. As K at school said, it is peace of mind. For somebody like me, peace of mind is worth a lot and I would rather be safe than sorry.
I am starting a second blog specifically to document my journey to my daughter's country and to start a blog that can be made into a book. I will post a link to it shortly. Thank you to other bloggers for this idea and to Lisa and Catherine for sharing blog2book.com
I hope by sharing about the shots I can help other prospective families budget the cost better than I did. My advice, especially if there are two of you, and you need a full battery of shots like me is to try to start as early as you can. The Twinrex is one that can be had while you are waiting. Something like the Dukoral is time sensitive to travel dates.
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