I don’t care how old you are, how much you’ve traveled, or how much time you’ve spent in a hospital, shots are never fun. My little kids, who usually handle immunizations with relative grace, came completely unhinged yesterday in the face of their last remaining injections before the trip. We traveled to the Utah County Health Department Immunization Clinic in Provo but did not brief them on the cause for the visit. They had no reason to suspect anything as the lobby was packed with people of all ages and no one was in apparent distress. After a brief wait and a lengthy consult with the travel nurse, I was led to a sterile room to review the protocol and examine the syringes and vials. The nurse was insistent that I see exactly what I was getting since I was shelling out such big bucks. The plan was to sneak the little kids in one at a time and quickly poke them while they weren’t looking. The element of surprise is usually our greatest tool for a tear-free immunization experience. I lost the upper hand, however, Read the rest of this entry »