went to see mimi's allergist today. they wanted to do a lab test to try to determine if mimi would be a candidate to out grow her peanut allergy, as well as do a check for other allergies that could be causing her sniffles and occasional bouts of eczema. what i didnt realize when i agreed to the blood draw was that they would need to fill 4 test tubes of blood from her little veins! i asked the doc and she said oh, they can probably get all the tests done with one quick draw...obviously she was mistaken!
we get to the lab and when our name is called, the phlebotomist (a rather youngish looking guy), told me to hold mimi on my lap...well, i'm nine months pregnant...there's a rather limited amt of lab space available...basically mimi was perched on my knees some what precariously. he looked a little flustered by that, but what could we do?
i informed him that this was mimi first blood draw (implying that he better not scar her for life with a horribly traumatic experience, please be gentle!). he tensed a bit and seemed to consider his tools with a bit more thought.
finally he settles on a small needle with a long tube to attach the vial to, rather than one of those bigger needles that get the vial attached directly to it. he straps mimi's arm with the band and has me lock her elbow and hold down her wrist. mimi says she will be so brave. he inserts the needle and but the blood is barely eeking out...seems to be taking forever, and mimi is quickly losing patience. when is it going to be done? i want to go home. i'm not feeling so good. finally one vial filled, he gets another one, but nothing is coming out. he wiggles around the needle and now mimi is crying, tears streaming down her face and she is screaming, 'I WANT TO GO HOME NOW!!!"
the man couldnt let us go without getting three more vials of blood. he's apologizing and i'm trying desperately to get mimi calm. i tell her we'll get a slurpee and ask her what flavors she likes, but she's still crying that she wants to go home. the phleb tells me he needs to try a vein in her other arm and he's trying his best but her veins are very small. so i had to hold her other arm down and this time he picks up the big needle and this time the blood is moving out faster and he gets one filled. by now mimi is howling that she wants to go home. she's starting to gag on her crying and she is saying, "i'm sorry mommy, i wont ever eat peanuts, mommy. i just want to go home. please, mommy, i'll never eat peanuts again. i promise. i promise." she's getting hysterical and i'm about to fall apart myself, my heart was breaking for the poor kid. i get her to start counting down for me, let's count 10, 9, 8...and i count slowly with her. one more vial filled. one more to go. she's starts to spazz again so i tell her to count, she is frantic as she rattles out 1234567...as fast as she can say it, sobbing all the while.
FINALLY it was done. the phleb was as shaken over the ordeal as mimi and i were. he took a deep breath, opened a drawer and told mimi she did well and he had stickers for her. mimi goes over and says she likes the one with dora and boots at the beach. the poor guy was like
"here, just take all of them." and he hands her a roll of like 50 stickers.
mimi and i walk out of there and back thru the waiting room and i could see everyone staring at us and i knew they had heard the entire ordeal. whew! i pray there will be no more blood draws for a looooong time. we headed out the door and mimi says to me, "mommy, please hold me. i'm so tired." so 9 months pregnant, i carried my 40 lb child all the way to the car in 100 degree weather. i almost passed out.
we went to get slurpees.
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