Jolly Holiday: No Penguins Allowed

Last week, my doctor's office ordered me a fresh batch of medication for our second cycle of IVF. Our home is already filled to the brim with alcohol swabs, syringes, and Follistim cartridges, but somehow it was determined that my current supply was not enough. Because all the infertility medications are special order, it is quite a process to acquire them: you can't just pop down to your local CVS or Walgreens. You have to order them through the mail and have them shipped to you. Typically my insurance requires that I order from a pharmacy based in Florida, but because they didn't have a particular medication in stock, I received permission to order from a different pharmacy in Maine.

My package arrived the day after the order was placed. I dragged it into the house and was immediately puzzled by the enormous symbol of a penguin with a red line through it. What could this possibly mean? No penguins were harmed while shipping this medication? Do not administer this medication to penguins? An admonishment to those who force their penguins to wear tuxedos (note the bow tie)?Just a random declaration of penguin hatred?

Luckily underneath the logo were the words, "Refrigerate. Do Not Freeze."

Now, I consider myself a smart girl, but never in a billion years would a picture of a penguin with a red line through it translate to me as, "Refrigerate. Do Not Freeze." Yes, I've suffered through The March of the Penguins where each time the poor penguins endured some horrible event, Morgan Freeman would assure me that, "the worst was yet to come for the mighty penguin." Seriously, if I were a penguin, I'd probably commit penguin-icide. Life for them sounds pretty miserable. But that misery is because they are freezing, not because they have been kept from freezing.

The use of the symbol got me thinking though. Are we really that dumb as a culture that we need pictures of penguins to tell us not to freeze our medications? I've said before that perhaps there should be some sort of intelligence test before a doctor is allow to assist a couple dealing with infertility.

Although if that intelligence test involved deciphering what a penguin with a line through it means, Husband and I would surely both fail.

And if anyone thinks I'm exagerating about how many medications were contained in this penguin-free box, here's a picture of one of my three medication shelves in the house. Another is in the refrigerator (NOT the freezer) and a third is in the guest bathroom. And I'm still always worried that they accidentally forgot to send me something!

Happy Tuesday!