Most of you already know that I have been working as a Health Educator for the last 3 years. I really like it and its fun for me to help people know more about their health and how to take care of themselves. Trying to practice what I preach I scheduled my annual physical with my family doctor soon after Christmas.
I know a lot of people don’t like to going to the doctor but they don’t usually make me nervous however this time I was a little anxious about my appointment. Not for any specific reason I think that is just part of the territory.
My appointment went really well. My doctor was nice, understanding and even made a few suggestions. In my opinion it went well. She did order that I have some blood work so she handed me off to the medical assistant and left the room.
From the moment the medical assistant came in the room it was all wrong. The MA directed me down the hall to where she would be drawing the blood. I walk into this room that looks like a storage room. I thought it was strange but to each their own, right!?!
Before she started she asked me if I was a fainter. I told her, “Not usually.” She proceeded to put on the tourniquet when another girl came in the room and asked her if she had seen a wound pack before. She replied no and was instructed to go with her and watch a wound pack. Before leaving the room she yelled down the hall for another girl to come draw my blood. When this girl came into the room she asked me where everyone went... like I was supposed to know. Nonetheless she retied the tourniquet and stuck a needle in my right arm. Instantly nothing happened and she said my vein must have rolled and took out the needle. How convenient for her I thought.
Just then the first MA came out of the wound pack room and was instructed to finish my blood draw. She noticed that my right arm was bandaged up so she tried on my left arm. Nothing. She flipped my arm over and looked at the back of my hand which oddly enough is pretty veiny. She asked if she could try it there. At this point I just wanted out of there so I agreed.
This also didn’t work. While the needle was still in my hand the MA was struggling to try to get blood out, dropping things and I noticed the needle poking back
up toward the ceiling making a tent with my skin. She asked me to hand her some gauze. When she coved my hand and pulled out the needle it squirted blood all over my hand.
Okay, THIS is where I started to get frustrated. Although I felt that I was treated poorly the whole time I was there I didn’t want to make a scene or be difficult so I kept quiet. But because I was fasting for the cholesterol test that the doctor wanted to do I started to feel a little queasy. I laid my head back and murmured something about not feeling good. She instructed me to put my head between my legs.
The next thing I knew there was some girl in my face and chaos was all around me. Apparently I fainted. HA. As someone who has fainted a lot, it was a bad one too. I remember it took me a long time to come back to consciousness. I spent the next 15 minutes in the doctors office freaking out. My mind was everywhere. How are they going to finish the blood draw? How am I going to get home? Should I go back to work?
I was off the hook they weren’t going to draw the blood today. Wheww.... although now I have to take work off again to get my blood drawn. At that point I didn’t even care. I was so cold and felt so gross I just wanted to go home. I came home and crashed on the couch for an hour before I had to go back to work.
Apparently the next time a nurse or a MA asks me if I am a fainter I will have to tell him/her yes. Sad.
This is a picture of my hand the next day.
