Refugees are often immunized against various diseases and illnesses in their own country.  I hear that they are immunized again before entering into the United States once they have been approved as a refugee.   After they are in the US they are often immunized again!  I’m not sure how this all works out or what I am missing in my understanding of all the immunizations they must receive but for some of my refugee friends, they are tired of painful immunization shots.  Children who are about to enter into American Schools are sometimes immunized with vaccinations that are different from what they may have received overseas.  So sometimes, I guess it makes sense that they receive additional shots.

A couple of days ago, I took a family of three to receive more immunization shots.  I had to take a mother and her two small children.  I am usually seen as the fun friend that comes over to play, educate and have fun.  Once we got into the doctor’s office and the nurses were about to give the three-year old little boy his shot I began to feel sad.  I didn’t want to have to help hold this smiling little man down for his shots.  He was so happy-go-lucky and giggly with me and so was his sister.  We were all buddies.  I suddenly had an idea and it was just in time.  Just before the nurse readied herself to give the shot, I decided to get the little boy to focus on the book I was reading.  With the little girl, we focused on looking out the window for a fancy red car to pass by in the street.  The nurse gave the shots and the children hardly cried at all!  Yes, it worked!!

My trick?  Well, when I was younger I was terrified of shots too!  I remembered crawling beneath the tables and running out the door to make my parents and the nurses chase me down to give me a shot.  But, one time, I had a brilliant doctor that seemed to feel sorry for me.  He asked me to sit up and look out the window to look for a pink elephant that he saw.  I was bare bottomed but didn’t care as I kneeled up on the doctors table to peer out the window in search for a big fat pink elephant.  I never saw it.  And I never felt that shot in my backside either!  I was hoping this same tactic would work with my little refugee friends and it did!  The children received their shots and I was still the cool fun friend.