I Admit It -- I'm a Wimp

I’m such a wimp. This morning Pam and I went to Lutheran Hospital to have some blood drawn for testing. For me, it has to do with high blood pressure which developed over the past year, and for which I’ve been taking tiny white pills. I hadn’t eaten in 12 hours, since you’re supposed to fast before having blood taken. But I also hadn’t drunk any water, which is allowable, but I guess I wasn’t thirsty. As a result, the nurse said, I was somewhat dehydrated, and that made it difficult for her to find a vein. She tried puncturing one on my right arm, but the blood stopped coming--because I was dehydrated--and she had to stop. And about that time, I started on a trajectory toward fainting. I didn’t, but I was heading in that direction, fast. I’m just a wimp.

So I sat there with my head lowered, trying to bring blood back to my head, and they brought me ice water to get some liquid in me. Meanwhile, a lady who was probably 70 came into the room and had blood taken. She talked the whole time, commented on the speed with which the blood was exiting her body, and generally became my Hero.

Eventually, color returned, and the nurse tried again. She had me clench my left hand while she kept tapping on my arm, trying to scare up a vein. She found one, poked it, and then what seemed like several hours passed. It was really only a minute or so, but it seemed interminable. Feeling myself going again, I started asking the nurse about her work—how many of these blood tests she did each day—and she, knowing why I was asking questions, tried to make conversation back. Toward the end, I felt myself going, my face flushing, and I’ll bet I would have fainted right there in the chair if she hadn’t suddenly said, “There, we’re done.”

She had me drop my head again to let me recover. Finally, I felt ready to go, and I stood up. Yep, I was ready. I said good-bye and left, finding Pam waiting for me (having long since given her blood).

I am SUCH a wimp.

Posted on November 22, 2004 06:21 PM|

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