Simple Victory

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Hi there,

So, if any of you are like me, you cannot walk into a doctors office without being stabbed with a needle. Weather it be for labs or for infusions or whatever else, the instant I decide to walk into a doctors office I can fully know that I will in fact have a needle put in me. I have come to prepare myself and always bring a snack bar. (I don't do well with needles and have found that eating something after being poked calms me down and prevents me from passing out.) I find it funny how it is the solution to everything for me nowadays. Oh you are having nose bleeds? Blood work. Oh you have a cold? Blood work. Oh you are feeling fine? Blood work. I mean half of my reason I go to a doctors office is to have a needle put in. Every six weeks I voluntarily go to a doctors office to get my regular labs, and every eight weeks I am walking into the infusion lab to get an IV with meds. 

Now I completely understand why I always have needles in me when I go to the doctors. First and foremost is of course my infusions, which are making my life easier. And then there is lab work. Doctors are able to see if anything fishy is occurring "under the skin." (Get it?) And truly I am grateful that doctors are extremely cautious and always ordering blood work. Due to my infusions, I am more susceptible to getting infections and getting sick and stuff, which can be more easily detected by looking at labs. 

So where am I going with this? Well, recently I walked out of a doctors office without having a single needle meet my skin! Seriously. I think it was the first time since January that that has happened. I felt like I won the lotto! I was jumping up and down because I was so excited. Given, I got a few looks from both my fiancé and other people, but I did not care! I threw my hands in the air in the elevator and congratulated myself on my success. I thought that I deserved a sticker or something for my accomplishment, but then I decided that the lack of the cotton ball and tape was satisfying enough. 

As the reality set in, I also felt strange. Happy still, yes, but strange. I felt like I cheated the system. Like they missed something. Like I forgot something. I'm sure the receptionists probably thought so too, being that I always get labs done, and I see similar ladies every time. (It's funny when a few of the receptionists recognize me and sometimes even ask if I am here for my labs before I have a chance to say otherwise. That is when I realize I am there far too often...) I also had extra caution for the rest of the day, making sure I wasn't going to stab my self accidentally on a pin or something. 

Just as I am thinking back on this, I still get a little warm and fuzzy inside from my little victory. It seems silly to be happy about such an insignificant event occurring, or in this case not occurring.  I know, many people don't have a needle stuck in them more than once a year, if that. But you know what? I will take not having one just this once. 

Nikki De


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