Publisher's Message: Scheduled for My Second Covid-19 vaccine - Chelsea Update: Chelsea, Michigan, News

The sticker I got from the Washtenaw County Health Department after my first shot.

Today, May 4, I am scheduled to receive my second Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

If it follows the same course as the first one, I won’t really know how I will be feeling afterward until about, oh, 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.

So head’s up readers, if I do feel crappy, I’m just going to go with it and not try to push through it and work on stories. I’ll take the time I need until I am feeling back to normal. The site will not go dark, I’ve planned for this possibility, you just might not see as many stories as normal.

To recap my first experience, other than a little stinging — kinda like a bee sting — immediately after the shot, I felt fine for the rest of the day. I got take out Thompson’s Pizza to celebrate when I got home and chowed on it. But as the day wore on, I noted that I was feeling oddly, a bit cold, so I put on another layer of clothing.

Problem solved.

I went to bed thinking, OK, one down, that wasn’t so bad.

What’s that song refrain? “I won’t be fooled again?”

I woke up in the middle of the night and my arm was really hurting and I could not get back to sleep. After tossing and turning, Buzz curled up next to me and put his head on my arm to make everything OK. At some point I did fall back to sleep, and when I woke up, Buzz’s head was still on my arm.

It wasn’t until I got up that I realized my arm was still very sore. And, I wasn’t oddly a little cold, I was freezing and could not get warm — all day — and felt just blah. I suppose I could have turned up the heat, but went with a heating pad, blanket and a couple rounds of Advil, which did help.

And I started reading a new book, something I have little time to do under normal circumstances. Tired, I went to bed early, Buzz curled up next to me and woke up the next day, feeling fine and dandy. And as a bonus, I still had some pizza leftover that I had for lunch.

Here’s hoping that these symptoms (or maybe none) will be the case this time around, and I’ll be in my happy place, at the laptop writing stories for you, the readers, on Wednesday.

But, it could also go the other way.

I could just as easily be hiding under a blanket with a heating pad, shivering away, sucking down water and Ginger Ale and eating Saltine crackers. That said, I do have a new book for that possible scenario.

There’s a 50-50 chance of it going either way.

I am, however, certain of one thing — that Buzz will be keeping a very close eye on me and never leaving my side. (He takes his job as Chelsea Update’s second in command when I’m writing and editing or as my No. 1 furry nursemaid with equal seriousness.)

Since I wrote this column before the scheduled Chelsea City Council budget work session and regular meeting on Monday, May 3, I’m reasonably certain that I was Zooming in and taking copious notes.

However, I usually write these stories the next day and this won’t happen. You can always go to the city website and listen to the meeting for yourself. Look for the city meetings on the top right and go to the City Council meeting held May 3 later in the day on Tuesday.

Place your bets now as to which way it goes, and I’ll be sure to update everyone.

And, just in case you might feel inclined to send me a card of congratulations on the bravery it took to get my second COVID shot (longtime readers know I’m quite the needle weenie) or in case you just to say something nice about Chelsea Update, you could always include a non-deductible check made out in any amount to Chelsea Update and mail it to 18829 Bush Road, Chelsea, MI 48118.

There’s also a Paypal donation option on the home page of the website, if that’s easier. And you can include a message there, too.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the following people (below) who kindly donated to my efforts in March and April. I so, so appreciate it.