The Shot

As promised, here is the story of how I got the calf shot (7-Way or Black Leg).  If you've already heard this story.  It's old news, just skip it.  During the 2004-2005 school year, Bret talked us into taking in a foreign exchange student.  Stijn Agelink of The Netherlands (Holland) lived with us from October to May.  It was wonderful having him here and he became like a son to us.  So it was calving season that year and I was making the rounds with Randy.  There was a new calf and as usual I was going to hold the calf while he gave it a shot and ear tag.  My glass half-full attitude does not apply to momma cows.  I always assume they are "on the hook" as Randy calls it.  Cows have no respect for me.  Even in the corral and without a calf, if I yell and wave my arms and stand in the way to try to stop a cow, she will run right over me.  It hasn't actually happened because I am a BIG chicken and always climb the fence and let them have their way.  So when this momma started pawing the ground and bawling, I headed for the pickup and stood next to it, ready to jump in if need be!  Randy always seems to be able to tell when the momma is bluffing and carried on with the tasks at hand.  HOWEVER, he was in a bit of a bad mood, and in a hurry, so after wrestling with the calf awhile, while keeping one eye on the cow,  he managed to give the calf the shot and then tossed the needle toward the pickup to get it out of the way so it didn't get stepped on.  Somehow the needle landed in my shin, stuck and then the weight of it, caused it to fall to the ground. Medicine and then blood trickled down my leg. Let me just say that this is NO SMALL NEEDLE!  Not like the tiny thing they give you a flu shot with.  Let me also say that this needle is kept in the pickup all through calving season and is only washed if and when it gets clogged and forcing  air through it, by repeatedly pumping the syringe won't solve the problem.  Now, Randy had recently told me about some medicine that, if accidentally given to a human, instead of cattle, will kill a person within 30 minutes.  As I looked down at my bleeding leg, and being a little miffed about his bad mood, and my aching leg, I said in my sarcastic voice, "Great! Am I going to die?"  I don't remember the answer.  We got back to the house and I called the vet.  I could sense humor in his voice (I think he could tell I was a transplanted city girl) as he said, "Even if you got the whole dose, it wouldn't hurt you.  Your only concern is the dirty needle.  You might get a Tetanus shot if you haven't had one in a while."  So, I went to the doctor the next day and got my shot (the human one).  My leg stayed sore a long time, but no infection or lasting ill effects.  Stijn was protective of me as his "American mom" and said, "Randy should be careful with that kind of stuff."  Please note that Randy did not hit me with the needle intentionally.