needles

I had to get my blood tested for stuff lately, so of course I have stories to tell. My doctor took a sample yesterday for Hepatitis A. He tapped my right forearm a bit while I tried to warn him that getting blood from me is nasty business. He laughed, tied elastic around my arm, told me to clench my fist, dabbed alcohol and pulled the suckers out while talking to my aunt. Yeah, he got style. Seeing the vial filled with my blood, knowing they came from only one poke, my brain was screaming "First bloood! Firsst blooodddd!!". I was proud.

Then today I went back for my Hep A shot (because tests showed I wasn't immune) and for another sample-taking. So there I was feeling so confident that it's going to be as effortless as yesterday. Siap clench fist already some more. My doctor tried to get the needle into the same vein yesterday but when he pulled, nothing came out.

The following words in blue are purely mental. Physically, I nodded and grimaced.

O Sht.

Hmmm. The vein's sealed already.

*taps left arm*

*taps right arm*

Hmmm..

*wills vein to unseal*

*squints at right hand*

O no. Not the hand veins.

*taps back of right hand*

Nurse, give me a butterfly please.

O sht.

Now, this is a butterfly syringe. It is used when taking blood from the hand, especially with people like you, who don't seem to have any veins *chuckles*

Hand more pain receptors than arm. Sht.

Okay, don't move.

Sht!

*inserts needle*

*feels lifeblood draining rapidly*

Hmm. The blood is barely flowing today.

Wtf?

*talks about random stuff with aunt*

*tries not to pass out*

*continues trying not to pass out*

Okay. That should be just enough.

*feels pulling sensation*

*opens eyes*

*sees needle sticking out of hand*

*tries not to pass out*

Biologically, I suppose this happened: Body interprets needle as threat. Blood vessels contract. Body prioritizes. Bloodflow to important organs increase, resulting in decreased bloodflow to extremities. Or something. Correct me if I'm wrong. This stupidly mild case of trypanophobia is frustrating. It's mild, so you'll just have to grit your teeth and take it. But it's there, so you WILL have to grit your teeth when you take it. I honestly was close to passing out. It's the butterfly syringe. It freaks me out.

The thing about syringes is, they don't react to anything. They don't cringe when you swear at them. They don't cower when you stare at them. They don't run when you thrust a burning torch at them. They don't die. They don't dream. They don't want.

They just glint.

They glint in this disturbingly smug way, knowing that you will have to meet them "for your own good". They know they won't kill you, but they know they can. They know they can plunge right into your body and plunge right out, leaving just this circular round mark no one notices. They know they are a necessity. They know you would let them in without a struggle, fighting your primordial instinct to repel sharp foreign objects. They know you know they will break and splinter into your bloodstream if you so much as take a swipe at them.

So they just glint.

Okay. Now for your Hep A shot.

Sht.