…is my current Thursday rendez-vous. I have to go to the allergist’s for my weekly desensitization shot – concerning one of my three hundred thousand allergies. Let’s just hope, the pain in the a… is worth it…

It all started with a simple allergy test. And, instead of slight reactions to the substances, my whole forearm swelled in a frenzy of pain and redness.

„Oh, isn’t this beautiful“, the petite practice nurse burst out, when she saw the mess. Although neither I nor the the other five medical assistants standing about agreed with her, she would not stop going on about how lovely that allergic reaction was: „Finally, someone reacts to our tests!“ she was trying to be encouraging – not very successfully, though.

Well, the result of all this is, that, once a week, my arm becomes an unnatural pin cushion. And every week, the little syringe is filled with more allergen, as my allergist doubles the dose. Apparently, the body normally tolerates that without major symptoms. Well, mine doesn’t.

As, after every single one of these doses my upper arm transforms itself into some misshapen lump sticking somehow to the rest of my body without really belonging to it. Almost instantly, that lump starts itching and becomes burning hot. And it stays like that for approximately five days – until the next shot.

However, according to my sister-in-law, the therapy is going really well: „A friend of mine’s entire arm was like your upper arm after each one of the injections“, she told me last week. „So, they had to stop the therapy, he couldn’t take it.“ I am trying not to let my imagination run away with me – there are more shots to come…

And every Thursday, I tell myself that I just have to tough this out – and that it will be over, one day. In three years.

L.