Blood, blood, bl...
May. 26th, 2009 11:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
slowfoxJust back from the docs' for blood tests. I am, I'm informed, somewhat difficult to get blood out of, and I informed the nurse of this as I started to roll up my sleeve.
Nurse: Nonsense! Let's have a look.
*pause*
*nurse taps skin optimistically*
Nurse: Can we try the other arm?
*slowfox rolls up other sleeve*
*Nurse ponders. taps new arm. Ponders some more*
*Nurse swaps to original arm (left)*
*slowfox apologises*
*Nurse swaps again to go for the new(er) choice of right arm*
*stabbity stabbity stab*
They need three samples for the various tests. Two samples fine, but I'd all but dried up by the third tube. Test concluded with me buttoning up my cuffs whilst the nurse experimentally wiggled the test tube back and forth, expressing hope that there'd be enough blood there for the lab to work with: I'd guesstimate that, compared to the first two samples, the third tube's sample was about 15% of their volume.
Anyway, with this, no news is Good News. So silence is hoped for.
Nurse: Nonsense! Let's have a look.
*pause*
*nurse taps skin optimistically*
Nurse: Can we try the other arm?
*
slowfox rolls up other sleeve**Nurse ponders. taps new arm. Ponders some more*
*Nurse swaps to original arm (left)*
*
slowfox apologises**Nurse swaps again to go for the new(er) choice of right arm*
*stabbity stabbity stab*
They need three samples for the various tests. Two samples fine, but I'd all but dried up by the third tube. Test concluded with me buttoning up my cuffs whilst the nurse experimentally wiggled the test tube back and forth, expressing hope that there'd be enough blood there for the lab to work with: I'd guesstimate that, compared to the first two samples, the third tube's sample was about 15% of their volume.
Anyway, with this, no news is Good News. So silence is hoped for.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-26 11:17 am (UTC)***
I've had blood drawn at least 20 times during the last year and there was only one doctor's office where they didn't manage at first or second try. So the conversation was something like this:
"Wow, your veins are hard to find. I guess you get that comment a lot, huh?"
"Actually, no, in 25 years no-one has ever said that."
"Oh, okay."
*silence*
"So, what arm is usually used for drawing blood?"
*shrugs* "Sometimes right, sometimes left."
"Oh, okay."
*pokes me three times without any success*
*meanwhile, I am getting pissed*
"I'll go get the doctor."
Incompetent nurses, I can haz them.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-26 11:42 am (UTC)The best person ever at taking blood was a junior doctor at UCH, way back in the preamble to the Gorefest. He was nearing the end of a long shift, and looked the dictionary definition of 'haggard', but was easily the most efficient person I've ever had at taking blood from me. Dude.