These things occurred on Monday September 9, 2024 in Prague, Czechia
Long before we began our adventure the issues of which vaccines to get and when to get them had been weighing on me. I had scheduled an appointment for all of us to visit a travel clinic stateside to get all of the vaccines we could possibly need back in April. Then I calculated how much they would cost. Almost $10,000. That’s right. For a family of six, it would cost nearly $10,000 to be vaccinated for yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and typhoid; this price did not include the cost of the office visit the travel clinic charges, and the malaria pills we need for our journeys to Africa, Asia, and South America. My jaw didn’t just drop. It hit the floor, bounced up, and slammed back down. Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money for a family trying to do this trip on a budget. After doing some research online, I learned that the cost of vaccines abroad is far more budget friendly than in the U.S. Chaim and I discussed our options: Take care of all vaccines and have piece of mind or get them along the way to save money. We decided to purchase the typhoid oral vaccine in the States and receive the rest of our vaccines abroad, with obtaining the yellow fever vaccine being the priority.
The internet told me that Prague has reliable travel clinics and the price for vaccines looked much better. It was also the first city where we could schedule a vaccine with enough time afterward to watch for symptoms before moving again. As soon as we arrived, I began looking into clinics. I found one that I thought could work but couldn’t get through to anyone when I tried calling. Our Airbnb host seemed especially kind, so I reached out to him to ask if he knew of any clinics. Not only did he do his own research, but he also called ahead to make sure they knew I would be reaching out in the next couple of hours. It made me feel better when I realized he and I found the same travel clinic, Centrum cestovní medicíny, which comes highly recommended for good reason.
Centrum’s team was incredible. When our Airbnb host called them, they immediately blocked off several hours the morning of the 9th to accommodate all six of us with the expectation that I would be in touch soon. I called them as soon as I heard from our host and got someone on the phone right away. Once we connected by phone their response time via email was within a couple of hours. The nurse assured me that they can handle children who are terrified of vaccines – three of our four boys are terrified of vaccines. As part of my packing extravaganza before we left in July, I included a shot blocker and lidocaine (that I may or may not have had lying around my house from something else I no longer needed it for) in my medicine kit just to make the vaccine process easier. I mentioned this to the nurse who said it was fine to use the lidocaine, but to wait until we arrived. To be on the safe side, I also consulted with my brother who is an ER physician.
The night before our appointment, the boys were very nervous about their upcoming vaccines. We kept reminding them that they were made to do hard things and that they had already conquered so many challenges with scrapes and bruises that were harder than the vaccine. Meanwhile I packed a vaccine “go bag” with the shot blocker, lidocaine, and the dregs of candy that we had picked up the previous week at the arcade. Oh, and a promise to visit the Illusion Art Museum of Prague that the boys had been begging for and, of course, a massive screen time reward for being brave, because, sadly, screen time is the ultimate motivator.
Overnight the temperature dropped twenty degrees, and it was raining when we woke up. We managed to wake up the boys by 7:15AM and were bundled up in all of our layers and ready to leave by 7:50AM. A fast turnaround for our family. We caught a tram into town and then walked in the rain the rest of the way.
As soon as we entered the clinic, I asked if I could put the lidocaine on the kids’ arms. The nurse told me to wait because we had to have a consultation first and we’d have to do it in two groups of three due to a lack of space. Eitan, Amichai, and I met with the doctor first because it was imperative that Eitan get his shot as quickly as possible. The unforeseen challenge was how long the pre-vaccine consultation would take. Paperwork, questions, explanations, and more. It took a solid forty-five minutes to finish up, and at one-point Amichai put his head down on the desk and said, “This feels like we’re back in school.” Mother that I am, I seized the opportunity to remind him how fortunate he was to be able to travel the world for a year. Amichai's protestation aside, the doctor was excellent and did a wonderful job explaining everything to the boys. She asked me multiple times if we needed more than the yellow fever vaccine, but I had to decline. We wouldn’t be in Prague long enough to receive the required two doses for Japanese encephalitis. I had thought about a flu shot, but they didn’t have them, yet. Sadly.
Once all the paperwork was completed, we switched with Chaim, Matanel, and Shai so that they could meet with the doctor, and we could prepare for our vaccines. The nurse let me know it was time to put on the lidocaine. Eitan did not appreciate the way it numbed his arm or that it smelled like mint. He despises the smell of mint. In fact, “despises” might not be a strong enough word. I may or may not have told him about the smell intentionally and I may or may not have put it on before he could say no. We decided I would get my vaccine first to give the lidocaine some time to work. As soon as I sat down in the patient chair, the nurse came over and began prepping my arm. I was busy talking to the boys and she was so fast that I only noticed my vaccine when she was taking out the needle. It was the most painless shot I have ever had, by far.
Although Eitan was nervous, he was incredibly brave. After all, we were going to Tanzania specifically because this is the one place he requested after studying the country in 2nd grade as part of his class’s World Citizenship project. I was so impressed with the nurse. She was patient, calm, kind, and very good at getting him to cooperate. She kept saying, “No stress. No stress.” She gave him his shot. Eitan was so proud of himself for being brave and couldn’t help but smile widely even though he said it hurt a little bit. After our visit to the clinic, Eitan declared that we should only get shots at this clinic forever and always. I explained we wouldn’t be able to travel to Prague for every shot he needed. He amended his statement and instead declared that we would never get a shot at CVS again. From now on we will only go to travel clinics or the doctor’s office. He might be onto something.
Our visit to the clinic finished around 10:30AM. Chaim went to work and the rest of us went home for a screen time reward. I took a much-needed nap after using all my emotional energy trying to make the experience as pain free and anxiety free as possible for everyone.
The rest of the day was spent at the Illusion Art Museum where the boys had the time of their lives posing for photos that challenged the viewer’s perception of reality, eating pizza at Pizza Shelanu (again), and more screen time.
