Quote of the Day

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Vampires, Water and The Chair

Last Friday I had my monthly plasma donation. After my pre-check workup and interview, I was taken back to the donation area and "the chair". When I saw who was standing there, I almost turned around and ran out of the building. There are only two ladies(Joyce and Karen) at the blood center who I don't want touching me however, I have never made a formal request on my chart. In fact, one time the phlebotomist who was supposed to take care of me was busy with another person and Joyce so kindly tried to step in and assist. I began shaking my head "no, no, no" behind her back that one of the other ladies suggested that she help someone else. Usually EVERY time I get one of these two ladies they botch the whole needle entry and end up digging around trying to find the vein which usually leads to heavy bruising and an incomplete draw or return.

As I am being led to "the chair" Joyce is standing there setting everything up. I am thinking to myself... "Say something... Tell them you want someone different." But do I? Oh, no... that would be rude... As I am sitting and waiting for Joyce to finish prepping the machine, I am starting to get really nervous and agitated. Now normally giving blood or plasma does not bother me... I can watch the whole needle pricking or not... but with Joyce at the ready, I was getting scared. I finally had to mentally slap myself and tell myself to calm down. Since I wasn't going to open my mouth and ask for someone else, I needed to just relax and let this happen... getting worked up about it was only going to make it worse. Plus, I reminded myself that last month my draw went perfect. I started doing some deep breathing relaxation.

As I looked away, Joyce prepped my arm, cleaned it with iodine and then jabbed that needle into my arm. She may have missed the vein as she had to do some "adjusting" and I thought for sure this was going to be like every other time that I had her. She made a little noise of victory and started to fill the vials first. I was a little amazed as there wasn't any pain this time although I made a huge error of judgement when she asked me if there was any discomfort. HA! Why didn't I just say no, everything is fine? But I happened to mention that their was some itchiness at the insertion point. Well, then she starts playing with the needle... "backing it up a bit"... "sometimes that helps"... what was I thinking??? I replied that it felt much better when she asked. Then after the machine starts to draw, she has a little gauze swab and she uses it to "scratch" by the needle "Itchy, itchy"... what am I... 2??

The machine goes thru the first draw and it is time for the first return to start. This is where I thought that it would all go wrong. To my utter amazement, the return went beautifully! In fact, the rest of the process was picture perfect. J says it is the weight loss that is helping and while I don't doubt that, I am sure that the increased water is also a HUGE contributor. That alone is enough to make me keep on drinking!

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