Okay so this is how the story goes. I usually get denied when it comes to donating blood. My iron is usually right below the cut off. Well a while ago, I found myself above that cut off so I'm all about donating. Brenton is not a fan of needles, which when he gets an I.V. stuck through his vein, I don't blame him. So I talked to him and he agreed to go donate with me. So we went last week. We get there and it's not too bad, the people who do the first screening and blood work, they were brand spankin' new. It took forever just to get through that part.
So I was done first and I was sitting waiting for someone to come and get me. So this guy comes and gets me. I looked very carefully to see how efficient he worked, if he took a long time to do simple things. So anyway, he seemed to know what he was doing. So he starts looking for my vein, and he finds one So he finds the vein, and it's in my forearm, it's not in the crease where everyone else has poked me before; now I should have known that this wasn't a good idea, but I didn't say anything. So I am sitting there anticipating the needle poke. And I'll tell you I have been very lucky with the people who jab big needles into my arms. I have not had one bad experience. Okay so the guy jabs me and it hurt. Not enough to scream out loud but enough to say "ouch" inside my head. Then the pain wouldn't go away. At that time, Brenton came in the chair next to me and I just started praying that the guy doesn't stab Brenton like he did me.
So I am sitting there and it's still burning, and Brenton has this scared look on his face, mind you he hasn't given blood ever!...okay so then my machine starts beeping. It's been probably 4 min. He had been coming back over and looking at the needle point, I just kept hoping that he wasn't going to take it out and stab me again, I have heard those horror stories. So the machine is beeping and I ask if I am done. He said no, and that it was beeping because the blood flow had slowed down. So he goes, "I'm going to see if I can help the blood flow" and at that point he starts moving the needle around. Now for all of you that are cringing right now, it wasn't that bad. It actually didn't hurt at all, except for the pain that was already there. So again, I just kept hoping for him not to take the needle out and stab me again. Well after a bit of moving the needle around, he looks across the room and calls for someone to come over.
So this other guy comes over. He takes a look at things and asks if it hurts where the needle is . I told him that it was a bit sensitive. He looks around a bit more, and tells me that he thinks that I am starting to clot. He said that he is going to try and fix it to get the blood moving again. So he too proceeds to move the needle around and pushes on the outside of my arm. Now my great husband next to me is getting ready to be poked, and I was just about to ask the other guy that has come over to rescue me, if he would do it. But I kept quiet and Brenton was poked. He says that it didn't hurt for too long, a min or so, I told him that it shouldn't have hurt like it did. This guy, his name was Chris, he says that it has clotted and it has "gunked" up the needle so there is nothing to do but call it a day. He took out the needle. Then he proceeds to tell me that I am probably going to swell and bruise, so he is going to get me an ice pack. I can see already that I had started swelling and it still hurt like the needle was there. I am all wrapped up and sitting next to Brenton. Oh this guy Chris also happens to be in Brenton's math class, so he chatted it up with us for a bit. My arm is killing me. I took Brenton for an ice cream because he was such a good trooper, and I got myself one to, to help me mend my poor body. We got home, and my body was on shut down mode. I pretty much passed out that night, with my poor arm hurting as it did just the same, and I can't bend my right arm. So the next day the bruising started. As you see below, the bruising just got worse and worse. I think these pics are 3 days old. Anyway, I am healing nicely now, but I thought I would share the experience. I want everyone to know that I am going to go back next time I am eligible to donate. I am not deterred from donating. It's a challenge for me to beat that blood iron percentage!!
It did keep spreading as the days went on, it was a good thing that it's cold over here and I can wear long sleeves!
The needle point you can kind of see in this picture. There is that dark purple horizontal part of the bruise. Right below it towards the left of the pic, you can see a circular area with no bruise, and then a dark dot....that is where he got me. That is very low from where they usually collect my blood.
Wow I have really white arms!!!
I love this about Thanksgiving, and I have no idea why. I mean what is so great about watching gigantic balloons being walked through a street that is thousands of miles away, and watching singers very badly lip sing to their newest hit??? I mean really, we all know you are faking, why don't they just play the song over the speakers while the stars waive???? No idea. But I am not hater I still love it! Brenton said that they didn't do the parade thing....well now he will. I hope he likes it, because this is one tradition that I am not about to give up. Nothing else is good on, except for the football games, which I would rather poke my eye out then watch the football games. 
