Ouch
I didn’t have the most pleasant experience giving blood today. I could tell right away that she didn’t get the needle in the right spot because it pinched. She moved it around which pinched more but it still wouldn’t flow. After another adjustment that hurt enough that I said “Ouch” out loud, we were finally good to go. She apologized and I told her it was all good even if it wasn’t “quite” all good.
Despite being worried that it still wasn’t properly aligned, I got done in 8 minutes then moved to the canteen area for my juice reward. The tech was clearly worried about me as she repeatedly asked if I was OK. My assurances must not have been enough, though, because she offered me a cold pack and said she was afraid she bruised my arm.
I accepted based on a previous donation where the area around the needle stick ballooned into a big, bruised bump when I removed the bandage. I ended up walking around with a cold soda can held against the spot the rest of the day.
The cold pack almost made it worthwhile because it was so cool! (No pun intended.) It was a plastic bag with what felt like small pellets in it. The directions said to shake it so the inside packet fell to the bottom then to squeeze it hard. I did and there was an audible pop and the bag instantly got cold.
Magic!
Actually, I’m sure it was a chemical reaction between the ingredients of Ammonium Nitrate and water that made it work but it was slick.
It appears to have worked, too. I took the bandage off four hours after my donation (just like the rules tell you to) and there was some slight bruised coloring but no inflammation or bump.
Despite being worried that it still wasn’t properly aligned, I got done in 8 minutes then moved to the canteen area for my juice reward. The tech was clearly worried about me as she repeatedly asked if I was OK. My assurances must not have been enough, though, because she offered me a cold pack and said she was afraid she bruised my arm.
I accepted based on a previous donation where the area around the needle stick ballooned into a big, bruised bump when I removed the bandage. I ended up walking around with a cold soda can held against the spot the rest of the day.
The cold pack almost made it worthwhile because it was so cool! (No pun intended.) It was a plastic bag with what felt like small pellets in it. The directions said to shake it so the inside packet fell to the bottom then to squeeze it hard. I did and there was an audible pop and the bag instantly got cold.
Magic!
Actually, I’m sure it was a chemical reaction between the ingredients of Ammonium Nitrate and water that made it work but it was slick.
It appears to have worked, too. I took the bandage off four hours after my donation (just like the rules tell you to) and there was some slight bruised coloring but no inflammation or bump.
