Charles is a patient who visited the Downham Vaccination Hub.
I was originally born and raised in Lewisham, but moved to Canada permanently around 2005, and am now a dual citizen. My reason for visiting the UK in May/June of 2021 was to help my family during a difficult time, as my mother had been quite unwell and was in hospital. I was extremely anxious when I found out that I needed to catch an international flight to the UK. I hadn’t even been inside another person’s house, or so much as picked up a take-away from a restaurant since March 2020. Drive-through restaurants are popular in North America; I allowed myself to visit about once per week. The thought of getting on a plane for about 10 hours with a bunch of other people was stressing me out!
I had recently received my first dose of Pfizer vaccine in Canada, and this did provide some comfort, but I was still not looking forward to it. Needs must, and I needed to just get the flight booked and get on with it.
After being in the UK for a couple of weeks the thought occurred to me that since I was going to have to extend my time in the UK due to my mother’s condition, perhaps there would be a way for me to get my second vaccination whilst I was here. I talked to my sister who knows a lot of people in the area, and she put out some feelers to see if anyone could help.
In no time at all I had been connected with a very helpful person volunteering at one of the popup vaccination clinics in Lewisham. After a bit of back and forth over text messages and emails, I was booked in for my second Pfizer vaccine! The experience of being vaccinated was very similar in the UK to my experience receiving my first vaccine in Canada. I found the vaccine center was well organized, and everyone I spoke with explained the process clearly and calmly. It was an efficient operation to be sure.
I have found myself quite lonely at times over the last year. I live alone with my cat, Ajax. As an IT worker I have been fortunate to be able to continue to work from home, with 1-2 days per week at the office. I have mostly isolated myself, and had very few interactions with people in person. At times the isolation was difficult, and I was feeling quite depressed for several months. I know that many others have been through similar experiences and challenges.
I found that I became more comfortable with my own company as the months went by, and I developed a closer bond with Ajax. I did try to support my in-laws who live relatively close to me, only being 50km away, and delivered some groceries to them each week up until about Christmas 2020. This was one of the few opportunities I had to talk to people in person, and I think we all enjoyed sitting in their back garden catching up each week.
When the pandemic ends, I am most looking forward to getting together with friends and family for meals and get togethers, and also camping trips. Since moving to Canada I have become very fond of exploring camping opportunities, some in organized campsites and some more adventurous trips into the backwoods. I may even manage a camping trip later this summer!
I was not worried about getting vaccinated, as I have confidence in the scientific process. I did make a decision last year to stop using social media, as I was finding that there was too much misinformation and misunderstanding being spread. It was a negative influence in my life so I basically just turned it off. I have never regretted this decision.