It was that time of the year again, Dr. Crygor received a phone call from Penny's doctor, who notified him, "Dr. Crygor?"

Dr. Crygor replied, "That's me."

"Your granddaughter, Penny, has a checkup tomorrow."

"Ok. Thank you for telling me."

Once Crygor hung up, he realized that Penny is scared of shots...


The next day, Dr. Crygor notified Penny, "Today's your checkup, Penny. You know what that means!"

Penny, for some reason, was petrified and had a panic attack, "No, please! I don't want a shot!"

Mike pointed out to Dr. Crygor, "Let's be honest. Nobody particularly enjoys getting shots. Not even you. Shots make me feel lucky to be a robot."

Dr. Crygor tried to calm Penny down, "They're not that bad."

However, Penny whimpered, "They hurt. They're painful. Please don't do this, grandpa."

In the past, doctors would always assure Penny they weren't painful. However, she would always feel pain when getting a shot as a little girl and now was too scared to get one anymore. Just thinking about needles could trigger a reaction that was more serious than momentary discomfort.

Penny's full-blown needle phobia almost induced extreme anxiety to the tune of dizziness, nausea, chest pain and a racing heart. Worse, it made her want to stop getting important vaccines and stop going to the doctor altogether.

Crygor withheld the information just so Penny wouldn't worry. One surefire way to stress her out about a shot was to make her worry about it incessantly the day before. If he had told her earlier, that dread would have done nothing but amplify the fear and make the appointment itself more panic-inducing.

Dr. Crygor told her, "Now, Penny. Being afraid of a shot is normal, but you can't just avoid them. I don't like needles either, I used to have a fear that prevented me from getting immunized, which affected my long-term health. Eventually, I conquered it."

Mike added, "I have seen that fear prevents patients from getting shots and lab tests. I've seen people pass out. It's a real fear."

For Penny, her fear of needles corresponded with the number of vaccine injections she received in a single doctor visit as a young child. She got lots of shots in one sitting. Her fear became more severe as a result. Receiving several shots at once was especially difficult for children. She was no different.

Penny had developed an intense fear of needles that persisted after receiving four immunizations at one time. Her grandfather said, "If you don't, you could get sick and infect people. You don't want that, so come with me. It'll be over before you know..."

Crygor realized Penny was gone. He assumed she was hiding and eventually found her in a closet, curled up in a ball and hugging her knees. Dr. Crygor held her hand and said they walked to the doctor's office, "Come on, Penny. Be brave."

Swallowing nervously, Penny reluctantly followed her grandpa to the Diamond City Medical Center.


At the waiting room, Dr. Crygor looked at some magazines while Penny just sat in a chair, remaining silent as her fear drew near. Not even reading Dr. Seuss books could calm her nerves. She looked at all the other children that were younger than her, fearing the worst for them because they would get shots too.

Once Penny's name was called by a nurse, she was shaking noticeably as she slowly and reluctantly headed for one of the doctor's exam rooms. Dr. Crygor followed her down the hallway. Then, the nurse checked Penny's weight with a scale and had her stand back against the wall to measure her height.

They went into the exam room, Penny took her time sitting on the patient's table as her grandfather reminded her, "When you get vaccinated, it protects the most vulnerable by breaking the chain of infection that viruses rely on to spread. A virus has a much tougher time reaching a vulnerable person if everyone in his or her household is immunized. You know that, right?"

Penny nervously nodded. The nurse left the office, and the doctor came in.


Checking Penny's heartbeat with a stethoscope, he deduced, "Heart sounds normal."

Using a cuff to check her blood pressure, he verified, "Blood pressure is within reasonable range."

After taking her temperature and getting 98.6 degrees, he checked her facial orifices with a light. It was time. The doc stated, "Almost everything is complete. You know what has to be done now."

When the doctor pulled out the syringe, Penny gasped in horror as the tip of the needle sparkled and. She tried to run away, but her grandpa kept her in place, telling her, "Penny, please. Just try to tough it out."

Penny said, "I can't, grandpa. I don't like sharp objects!"

"It's for your own good. Without a shot, you could be ill!"

"It hurts too much! I can't do this!"

"You have to! It's for your own good!"

Seeing how typical it was for patients to freak out over a needle, the doc sighed in exasperation as he slumped down in a chair and waited for the drama to cease. Penny kept struggling to escape as Crygor held her in place. She tried to head for the door, childishly whining and fussing, "No! Let me go! Please! I don't want a shot! I don't want to be hurt by a sharp needle! Please don't do this to me!"

Finally, Dr. Crygor had had enough of Penny misbehaving and put his foot down. He got very mad, and he angrily scolded Penny for being uncooperative, "Penny Janice Crygor, I demand that you stop misbehaving this instant! You need to get a shot or you'll get people sick! Stop being a coward and let him give you a shot right now, young lady! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"

Oh no.

Middle name. That's not good.

Yelling only made things ten times worse. The way Dr. Crygor raised his voice at Penny broke her heart. Her eyes watered with tears streaming down her cheeks, her lips trembled and then Penny began to cry, devastated that her grandpa yelled at her so harshly.

How Penny cried was not the fake crying that a spoiled teenage girl would do to get her way all the time. No, Penny was really emotionally distraught from how Dr. Crygor berated her for fearing shots.

The way Penny was sobbing was when Crygor realized he may have gone too far and he felt awful for loudly shouting at his granddaughter. The doctor glared at him while shaking his head in disapproval. Even he thought the old man was overreacting, telling him, "That's low, man."

Crygor's facial expressions slowly transitioned from angry to guilty as he looked at how Penny was crying. He touched her face. Penny's eyes were wet and puffy, her cheeks felt positively soaked, tears dripped down from her chin onto the floor and her face was crinkling up. Dr. Crygor removed Penny's glasses and dried her tears, comforting her, "Penny... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry by hurting you with my outburst, all I want id for you to be healthy and not be diseased."

Penny choked between sobs while fighting back another round of tears, "But...I... I'm not brave like you when it comes to getting shots, they hurt. The needle is so sharp and the pain from the prick is just too... too..."

When it looked like Penny was going to break down and bawl again, Dr. Crygor reassured her, "I understand that you're scared because shots hurt, but the pain is only brief. The prick only lasts for several seconds."

The redhead whimpered, "I can't help it, grandpa. I'm just so terrified."

"Maybe there are some ways I can help you feel less scared. Try reframing your thinking. It may sound easier said than done, but consider this: phobias are, by definition, extremely irrational fears. Remind yourself that any pain associated with shots or blood draws are over almost instantaneously."

The doctor put a hand on Penny's shoulder, adding, "Staying positive minimizes discomfort. TJust think positive thoughts as you roll up your sleeve and tell yourself that it will be quick and painless."

Penny sniffled, "... ok."

Crygor opened his arms, saying, "Come here, my poor baby."

As Dr. Crygor hugged his fragile granddaughter, Penny was weeping as her grandpa consoled her, he caressed Penny's hair, kissed her forehead and whispered sweet sounds of "Shhhh", "It's okay" and "Don't cry" into her ears. He even rocked Penny back and forth like a father would to an upset child.

Penny slowly but surely regained her composure as Dr. Crygor delicately held her in his arms, patted her back and stroked her hair, waiting for her sadness to repress as she wept into his shoulder. Even the doctor joined in on making Penny feel better.

In a few minutes, Penny stopped crying and finally quieted down, too tired to cry anymore. She rubbed at her face and wiped the last few tears away. Dr. Crygor asked, "Feel better, Penny?"

"A little."

Dr. Crygor asked her, "Will you let your doctor give you a vaccination now? Please? I'll take you out for ice cream as a reward if you be a good girl and let him give you your immunizations."

After Penny put her glasses back on, she smiled a little and said, "Ok, grandpa. I'm ready."

The doctor said, "Finally."

Penny was finally ready to suck it up and get her shot. She lied down on the table, rolled up her sleeve, turned her head away to face the wall and closed her eyes as her grandpa confided in her, "The best cure for fear of needles may be simply getting the shot and proving to yourself you can do it. Just do everything you can to distract yourself from it."

While waiting, Penny kept her head turned away and hummed a little song, so she could focus away from what the doctor was doing. As she felt a prick in her arm, Penny cringed slightly as tried not to think about it. She counted, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5."

Finally, the shot was over. the doctor put a Band-Aid on her arm to contain any bleeding, telling her, "All done, Penny. You're free to go."

Relived, Penny got off the table and Dr. Crygor asked, "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Penny answered, "No. You were right about how quick it was."

"Trust me. You'll be better off in the long run for getting that shot."

"I know."

"Can you find it in your heart to forgive me for yelling at you, Penny?"

"Yes, grandpa. I forgive you. I know you're just trying to help me."

They shared a hug with Penny's arms around her grandpa's neck and his arms around her back as Dr. Crygor said, "I love you, Penny."

"I love you too, grandpa."

"Want to get some ice cream?"

"Ok."

They held hands as they happily skipped and exited the doctor's office. Penny and Dr. Crygor left the medical building and headed for the Gelateria.