Enrolling

Early Monday morning the medical committee got back to the research assistant to let her know that they are also considering my 4mm of inflammation as inflammation and to move ahead with my enrollment in the vaccine study. Yay!!

Now I have read the study protocol multiple times and I am aware that they need a urine sample the day of tests. I however, was running a little late to my appointment and peed the second I got there. The research nurse provided me with a couple bottles of water as they drew more blood and we reviewed the day 1 plan. Thankfully, I have never had a shy bladder and was able to give them a sample. The urine sample has to be processed before they do anything in the study so it was very important urine. Labeled STAT with a bright yellow sticker. Seriously good thing water goes straight through me. They need to make absolutely positive that I am not pregnant as the vaccine is teratogenic.

After having another physical per the study protocol the research nurse was ready to give me the skin test. This involves two injections into my thigh. We have to wait for the research pharmacist to bring the two syringes up. One is water and the other contains the additives to the vaccine to make certain that I don't have an allergic reaction. I asked the research nurse if she knew which syringe was which. She said no even the skin test was double blinded. They are both identical in clarity and are just labeled with my name and medical record number. I am impressed with the study protocol so far. They work really hard to remove all the bias. The research nurse then does the two transdermal injections. If you have ever had a TB test its similar to when they inject the ppd, except this feels like being stung by two giant bumble bees! She finishes and my response to her was "DAMN". After maybe a minute the burning goes away. There is only slight puffiness at the injection site and no redness. I am surprised because I often have swelling with simple injections. I went back to work and today I can't even tell where I was injected. I would say I am killing the skin test.

Tomorrow is vaccine day! I will get 4 bee sting injections. I am the first person at this hospital enrolled in the study so they are all very interested to see if it hurts, etc. I will have to sit and be monitored for an hour. Then I will be sent home with a swelling tracker which is an overhead projector sheet with a bullseye on it that I have to mark my redness on for 3 days. This should be interesting.

Because the research nurse said they would feel like bee stings all I could sing while she was injecting was this (as I call it the bumble bee song):