Trip to a trauma chamber

I made it finally! The thought had been resting in my head for a while. I came up with a million excuses to put the idea on the back burner. Not a day had gone past guilt free till then. Everyday as I got off the train and walked to my work, I went past it. My head turned in the opposite direction instantly to fool myself that I never saw it. This continued for a fairly long time and I nearly forgot about the trip I had to make, until a grim reminder came on my mobile phone with a ting! It was crunch time then and had to pick up my game. With some pep talk and moral boost from my hubby, I set out one fine morning. Oh! did I say a fine morning? Well, I was on my way to do something that I had been avoiding and the weather on that particular day was outrageous. Windy, cold and raining heavily. My glasses needed a wiper attachment on them to help me see the road. The umbrella I was holding was as good as walking in the rain. Thanks to a $5 supermarket bargain. I cursed everything that came my way that morning.

Struggling to walk on the road, I finally reached the address and quickly ran into the building for shelter. I checked the address again and pressed the button for the lift. I had to go to level 9 of that building. The doors of the lift always used to open with a squeaky noise like those in horror movies. They still opened with the same sound effect and my hesitation in visiting this place could also have been partially due to this effect the noise had on me. I walked out of the lift into a lonely narrow corridor. The lights were dim and one of the bulbs there was nearly down to its last few breaths. I felt sad for the bulb and walked towards the room where awaited my moments of agony.

The door had a chime attached to it which jingled as I opened. There was nobody in the room. Chairs were neatly arranged and magazines stacked up neatly on the table for everyone to pick and read. A water filter sat on one corner of the room. Everything felt very cold inside and, out of nowhere an Asian woman appeared and said, 'Hello, Gud Mornin!' I managed to sport a smile but suddenly I sensed an alarm. I quickly said, 'Could I use the restroom please?' The lady was kind enough to show me the way. I relieved myself of the panic and was back again inside the same cold room. The lady still holding a smile, waited for me to handover the slip. It was a few scribbled notes on a piece of paper from my doctor. She looked at them and directed me into another room. "'Make yourself comfortable,' she said looking at the slip, 'I need to check somethin. Not sure what some of these mean.'" The sound of doubt in her voice began to work my stomach into cramps. I could not sit or stand comfortably.

The lady was back and she closed the door of the room behind her. I was not sure at that point if my heartbeats were faster or if my counting was faster. But I was surely trying to practice counting numbers in my head and taking deep long breaths to relax myself. She prepared herself with a pair of gloves, some labelled glass tubes and alcohol swabs. Then tightened a band across my upper arm and ordered me to hold my palm into a fist while she was trying to feel my veins. 'You are a very difficult one,' she said. I acknowledged her and looked at her with a sorrowful face.

Every visit to a pathologist is my worst nightmare. In majority of the cases, it takes no less than 4-5 attempts to finally hit a vein to draw the blood. Many a times this attempt happens on both my arms. The procedure here is that after three unsuccessful attempts, the pathologist is not allowed to try anymore. Another pathologist needs to take over. By the end of this trial both my arms are sore and blue around the area of action. And I bruise very easily in fact and stay bruised for a long time.

The lady studied my state of mind and my veins and decided to use a butterfly needle! It was a small needle with a long tube attached at its end that looks like a thin wire. She tapped the spot gently with her petite fingers and poked me and I could see the blood filling up and then stop immediately. She placed a glass tube to collect the blood at the end of the wire and tilted the needle gently. A slight prick and there I saw blood gushing through the thin tube and filling the glass tube. That was such a huge relief. All my muscles began to relax. My eyes were wide-open with surprise and joy and I shouted a big "thank you" at her. She had to fill 4 small tubes and in a matter of seconds everything was over. I had never felt so exhausted early in the morning.

She treated the needle prick with a sterile cotton ball and with a small piece of plaster to secure the cotton ball in place. 'Make sure you don't lift anything heavy with that hand for sometime,' she said. As I opened the door to exit, I requested the lady to not leave that branch and move elsewhere. I told her that I would come to her everytime I needed a blood test . We both then said good-bye to each other with a smile. My next stop was at a cafeteria to re-fuel my tanks.

 

Dear Andal, Thank you for understanding. Although it is only a matter of taking a little bit of blood, I find that whole experience very challenging to say the least. I feel for your little son. I am sure he will grow up to be a strong man and not a weakling like me . Thank you for coming.

 

Dear Lalitha..heheeh! That was my intention as well and happy to know that I succeeded a little bit in that. I hope the lady stays at that place and that she does not ask for a transfer. She can't do that to me :-(. Thanks for stopping by. Take care.

 

Hellooo!! Nyan vijarichhu sthalamvittu poyi ennu. So glad to see you and even more happy to know that you are doing well now. Life is beautiful ennu kelkkumbol I feel so happy for you. Good on you and good to see you here. Not to worry about me..I am crazy at times

 

Dear Jaishvats, I am glad you felt what I was trying to achieve. You know a friend of mine had a look at this and said "Rubber mathiri izhuthhu you have written". I felt bad that my "creativity" was being made fun of :-(...hahaha.. Thank you for taking the time to read. But you are right though that an experienced hands makes all the difference.