The first time I gave blood, I decided I was in a race with the guy next to me to fill the bag. Don't ask me why. I squeezed and pumped that little squeezy thing they make you hold on to and willed the blood out of my body.
Pretty soon the nurse came over. "That was fast. Let's get you unhooked."
Unhooked I was and whisked to the front of the "Bloodmobile" where cookies and juice were offered. Cookies were Oreos in a little snack pack. Juice was in the form of a juice box.
While I struggled to open the cookie pack, a nurse said "Let me get that juice for you."
As she withdrew the straw from it's wrapper on the side of the juice box, I couldn't help but notice that the shape of the straw was very reminiscent of the needle which they use when drawing your blood.
I sort of forgot about the cookies in my hand as she started grinding the point of the straw again and again into the little silver spot on top of the juice box.
The periphery of my vision started to become blurry and washed out as I watched that pointed straw twist and grind against the top of the juice box, making a dent in the little silver dot which is meant for a straw to go into.
Hypnotized by the straw and starting to feel kinda funny, I observed the nurse draw the straw back in her fist and stab downward into the juice box. It pierced the top of the box finally, and a short squirt of Welch's best flew through the air past my face.
And then the floor flew up and smacked me hard in the face.
That experience ruined me for needles and the sight of blood for many years. If you had told me I needed an IV or I would lose my leg, I likely would have had to think about it first.
Three and a half years ago, I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. Since then I have had at least 30 IVs, and probably had blood drawn 50 times (and 3 colonoscopies
). It's to the point now where I am completely desensitized to the whole thing. I'll watch the IV go in, watch my blood flow up the tube, and then back down when they turn the pump on. I'll hold the needle steady when they are taking blood, etc. Absolutely no effect on me anymore. You just need to desensitize to it all, that's all,