jabby jabby!

OK so today I spoke with a travel nurse on the telephone and discovered I need about a billion vaccinations to protect me while I'm away. The nurse was exceptionally helpful as I had been feeling a little insecure after my team captain for the trip had said we only needed a yellow fever certificate and that it was our own choice about whether we take malaria medication or not but she wasn't going to bother...

I have discovered that I need the following:

• Hep A and Typhoid (given thankfully as a combined jab)
• Yellow fever (must book into a specialised travel clinic for this one)
• Swine flu- yep, believe it or not, some of the areas I'm passing through are only coming to the end of the swine flu high season this month. Although I would normally tough out something like swine flu, the idea of having it when I'm in a jungle over a thousand miles away from home does not thrill me, and for £10 I figure, what the hey, I may as well protect myself!
• Tetanus, polio and diptheria- again, thankfully a combined jab. I can't believe it's been ten years since I last had this shot! Thank heavans I get this one for free aswell!
• Malaria- I have found out that most of the areas I'm visiting are considreed "variable risk" and some places, namely Iquitos, are considered "high risk" with 98% of mosquitos actually carrying the malaria virus! Ouch! So I will be picking up some malorone for the journey then!
• Rabies - which I ought to have for work already really but have been hoping to get it payed for by the health service since rabies is pretty much an occupational hazard for me (especially with this new -wild- pygmy slow loris coming from China soon). Unfortunately it is too late for me to get covered for this one before the Peru trip as you have to take a course of 3 injections over a 28 day period. The nurse told me to "avoid bats" and "high risk activities" yeah right! She clearly didn't realise who she was talking to!!

I luckily got booked in for 3 vaccinations this friday so I am going to have one hell of a dead arm!! Unless they put any in my bum cheek of course. I think that's where they stick you with the yellow fever one. Eeeek!!

I am very pleased to hear that my wonderful Dad has been getting sponsorship from some of his collegues- many special thanks to dad's collegues for supporting me!!!!!

Also a donor who wishes to remain anonymous has also helped me with a very generous offering to the fund- extra special thanks to that person also.

Doing a car boot sale this saturday at Oakington (Cambs) to raise some more aswell so if you've nothing better to do very early saturday morning, come down and say hi!!

:)