Wednesday, December 20, 2006

That is a first

Q: What happens if you try to give blood and nothing comes out?

A: They dig around with the needle a bit and then wrap your arms up in a big bandage.

Yes, I went to give blood and none of the red stuff came out. Seriously. They did the sterilizing bit, stuck a needle into the vein, and about an inch of blood came out of my right arm.

It then stopped.

Like ketchup that won't come out of the bottle, my blood refuse to flow into the tube. They checked the needle and the vein and were confident they were inside. I could have done without the comment that they may have gotten a chunk of skin in there.


So they gave me the option. Go back to work or try the left arm. I was game so I rolled up the sleeve and let them bring in relief pitcher. Before they stuck my arm, some guy who reminded me of Dr. Nick from the Simpsons came by to give the girl pointers. That scared me. How could I trust this guy to put a needle in my arm after all those years of seeing what he does on TV.
I was glad the girl came back. She jammed the needle in my arm, checked it a couple of times and opened the spigot.
They got about 8 inches of blood this time. Then it stopped once again. They think the coffee I rank may have thickened my blood.
Any which way, that is one of the weirdest things I have had happened to me. I failed at giving blood today. That is a first. They still insisted that I refrain from exerting myself and eat a good meal before drinking tonight. I looked at Dr. Nick in amazement and told him that I didn't do anything. No blood = me doing whatever I want. He came back with "you had two needles in your arm. Take it easy, sit down, and eat a cookie."
Ok.
So now I have my left arm wrapped in a big ace bandage while my right arm has a regular little band aid on it. They both hurt a bit.
I guess I should go home and tackle the bottle of Maker's Mark. They did say to refrain from strenuous activity.

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