Now that the book is written and is being shopped, it’s back to the practice of being uncomfortable. I’m convinced this is a fantastic and easy (many things cost nothing and/or need no prep) practice to adopt if you want to rocket through life with unshakable resolve.
Today’s experience: needles in the body. I was that person that NEVER looked at needles. I would occasionally faint as a child getting shots or having blood drawn so I’ve avoided every blood bank donation ask and any situation where getting a “B12 shot” or completely optional “boost” was offered. Ick, it just grossed me completely out: the whole vein thing, the needle pushing in, the blood coming out, or the IV drip going in. I’ve wondered how heroin addicts dealt with it, honest to God.
Aaron Keith hooked me (many thanks, Aaron!) up with his clinic (Spark Health) that does IV drips, blood work, shots, and more. This is the kind of place where people willing go in, get a needle in them, and watch bags of liquids get soaked up in their veins or pop in after hot yoga to get a B12 shot in the butt “real fast.” I would never be one of those people. But, Aaron has two lovely doctors who helped me this Saturday, and I eventually called them the “blood babes.” These two ladies were in LOVE with their jobs. They gush about blood (ha), “get excited with gore,” and “are one with the vein.” ONE WITH THE VEIN. Wow. You need to make that into a bumper sticker, Aaron. Goes to show: people love all kinds of things, and when they find their callings, man, are they happy. This was fun energy to be around, and I learned something: it makes you feel silly to wince at something another person just adores. The patients clearly loved these ladies. They felt the doctors' delight, perhaps literally in their own veins.
Both doctors let me watch, with permission from all the great patients, IVs get set up and shots get done. The first patient, a regular, had massive arm veins. I watched the whole process from about two feet away, all the way to the IV hook up. “How are you doing?” the doctor asked. She wasn’t asking the patient-that question was for me. It looked so. . . shockingly gentle, so I was just fine. We did a few shots in people’s butts who had no problem dropping their draws with me standing a foot from their asses. The needles to the butts weren’t so bad: it’s so plump back there that you just (very precisely) “throw” the needle like a dart to the chunk of butt you’re holding between your fingers and thumb. Back to the IV drips-I watched a few more and noticed you DO need to “feel” the vein. They’re hidden little buggers on some people. Regardless, it LOOKED painless, and I started to suppress a shudder or “aggghhhhh!” every time a needle was going in, something the doctors were probably rolling their eyes at with a smile until I got that under control. One of them then offered to draw my blood, insisting I watch the whole thing. That sounded utterly horrible, which is exactly the “strike zone” of being in a truly uncomfortable experience. But! I watched the whole thing, starting at the needle as it went in and the crimson blood fills the tube. I had to sit for five minutes to make sure I was stable, as I felt immediately light-headed. I was just fine though.
I’m not joining the blood babe brigade anytime soon, but with this experience complete, I know I’ll be fine in any situations related to needles and blood. If you need me to inject you, I got you. Special thanks to Aaron’s wonderful patients and superb doctors who showed me the odd love of blood.