The Blood Bus

I set a goal at the beginning of this year to donate blood because it seems like a good thing to do. It's the end of July and I finally got up the nerve to do it. See, no one can ever find my veins so I've never had blood drawn, or an IV, or anything with just one stick. It's usually several and several different nurses, techs, whatever, that try it. I'm pretty much averse to any and all pain and multiple jabs does not work with that. And I mean, really, who likes needles anyway? Ooo, yes, please poke me with that big sucker! Nevertheless, I decided I'd go and donate blood and check off that dang little goal.

I got to the blood bus and filled out my paperwork and they took my temperature, and pricked my finger to check my red blood cell count, etc. Then I sat in the lovely little reclining chair and one of the phlebotomists went to work. But couldn't find a vein in my left arm. So we switched chairs and a different phlebotomist eventually found a vein in my right arm. (Perhaps my veins reside in the middle of my arms rather than close to the surface like most peoples?) She put the needle in then looked at it with a screwed up face. "Hmm, not much blood is coming. It should really be gushing by this point. Do you mind if I adjust the needle?" Oh sure, why not! (This happened when I had surgery too - the blood should have been gushing... but it wasn't. Apparently I also have less blood than others or else it knows when someone is trying to steal it and it stays far away from the predator.) The adjustment didn't work. Phlebotomist Tom came over and looked at it and asked if he could see my left arm. He found a vein in my left arm and if I don't mind they'll switch me back to the other chair and take it from that arm. That is, if I don't mind.

Naturally I said I didn't mind - I mean what else am I going to say? Heck no! I'm done with this and this is what's kept me from coming here all this time? Well, I agreed and first had to go back to the waiting area while the other persons in the left arm chairs finished up. This is clearly a very simple procedure for most people - and fast - they come in, sit down, the blood flows, they leave. Ten to fifteen minutes. But not for me. Oh no, we're going on an hour at this point. And other people were just flying through the place!

Phlebotomist Tom was able to locate a good vein in my left arm and once he got the needle in the blood flowed quickly and filled that little bag right up. (I guess my blood gave up the hiding bit.) He said that if I want to donate blood again (he was clearly unsure if I'd be willing to come in again) that I should drink double my normal intake of water for 2 days ahead of my donation and that should help. I'm not sure that would help but I'll keep it in mind. Because by next summer I might have forgotten this ordeal and be willing to try again.

Oh yeah! They also wrap your elbow with a bright bandage around the gauze. I think the bright color is so that it stands out and people ask what that's all about and you tell them you donated blood and they say, "Oh! I should donate blood too!" I wonder if it ever works? So don't worry, I had bright teal bandages on both elbows and the small white bandage on my finger where they checked my red blood count. And seriously, my finger really did gush! Good thing I only had to pick one thing up from the store with those lovelies on. I only got a few curious looks. Not having donated blood before it didn't occur to me to go to the store before I was all bandaged from being attacked.

By this time I've learned a few things.

1) When it involves needles in my arm, whether that be drawing blood or getting an IV or whatever, I'm going to have to go in and just insist that they start me off with the boss - the person with the most experience. Not because I'm a snob (which is what most of them will think and the head nurse person won't be able to dispute it because they'll find my vein right away and not see what the problem is) but because I always end up seeing that person anyway but only after several unnecessary jabs and pokes, and much more discomfort than necessary.

2) My blood doesn't want to be removed. It's quite happy where it is so whether you want to test it or take it, you'll likely have to fight for it.

3) If I should undertake this endeavor again I'll need to plan on about 1 1/2 to 2 hours - just to be safe. (This one was over 1 1/2 hours...)

Crazy Little Storm

Last night we had a crazy storm about 11pm or so. I could tell it was raining buckets and hailing and it was so dark out I couldn't see much when I looked out but I had no idea the extent of it until this morning... Here are a few pics of the damage outside.

It looks like snow in July:

Leaves everywhere!

And look at this poor little flower! All the leaves are torn up and the petals were knocked off. There are many plants like this and our summer squash looks polka dotted.

Crazy! And while I was listening to the rain, hail, wind and thunder last night I thought how terrifying it must be to be in a hurricane when things truly are crazy. Especially on a little island in a grass hut. It made me grateful that I have a warm, safe house that's sturdy and that I live in a pretty mild climate where this is about as bad as it gets. I wasn't worried last night, it just made me wonder and be grateful for my blessings.

Shoes

My foot is still swollen from surgery and the incision area is still pretty tender (I guess body parts don't like to have people rummaging around in them) so I can't wear normal shoes yet except for my tennis shoes.  That means I've been wearing my surgical shoe to church every Sunday and let me tell ya, as beautiful as it is, I'm so tired of it. 

Then I found out that I have been awarded a scholarship from the Colorado chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and there was a luncheon I had to attend today for it. (More on that later.) Now I realize this might be a little vain, but seriously, I just really didn't want to wear my surgical shoe with my dress to this luncheon. I'm sure it would have been fine but I'm just sick of it. So I've been on a mad search for dress shoes this week. Most shoes are cut so that they cross exactly over my incision and clearly that does not work. Ouch. And most are too tight. Unless I go up a size. Then I can't walk because the left foot is falling out of that shoe. Sigh. I did manage to find a pair of a taupe-ish sort of color shoe that mostly worked (totally flat which is not so good for gnarled feet) and a black one that is mostly not that cute but wasn't too uncomfortable so I bought them and will leave them in the box until I decide they aren't that bad or until I find something I like better that works. (Although that's not likely as I've searched so many shoe stores around here...) 

I put some Dr. Scholl's inserts in the taupe ones and they were ok today.  Hooray! I still don't know what I'll do this summer - flip flops are out - but it's not hot yet...

The Bad Part About Colds...

...is that, besides the achy, head-in-a-vice, runny/stuffy nose crap, I drink a lot of water cause my throat gets so sore - and that means that I'm in the bathroom every hour. (I think we're all aware of how small my bladder is...) That is so annoying. I'm done complaining now - at least here - I just wanted to throw that out there. How was your weekend? ;)

Under the Knife

I had surgery on my foot on March 20th and here are some thoughts from the process...

* Anyone who intentionally has surgery (basically meaning people who have plastic surgery, cause that's the only kind I consider totally optional) is crazy! C-R-A-Z-Y.

* Trust the nurses. When the doc says "you'll be up in no time!" and the nurses say "you'll be moving real slow and it'll be painful for a few weeks"  -  the nurses are right.

* Wearing a "shower boot" over the bandaged foot can make showering interesting.  And it makes shaving impossible in the shower (well I couldn't have supported myself on one foot anyway) so I had to use my crappy little electric razor. Did I mention how crappy it is? 

*And my right leg said "YES" on it for several days. (They write 'yes' on the leg so they operate on the correct limb. I think that's a good plan.)

* It was kind of nice to have that forced vacation where I really couldn't do anything. (well, ok, it'd be much more fun to do nothing on a beach with happy feet that don't hurt but I'll take what I can...) It was over spring break so I didn't have to be anywhere either. I read books that had nothing to do with school (well until Friday anyway) and watched movies.  I also made this necklace and bracelet set for Becky:

Here's a better shot of the necklace:

* After I reminded Justin that my room is in the basement he was very attentive and helpful. :) 

*And finally here's today's update... I had the stitches taken out and I still have to wear a surgical shoe but no bandage and no more shower boot.  Yeah.  Not that I can stand on my right leg alone yet but this is progress.

My foot is quite a bit more red and swollen than the doc would like so I have to elevate it above my heart and ice it 2-3 times a day and hope that I can avoid an infection. I'm not too sure how I'll do that 2-3 times a day on school days but I'll figure something out. Apparently this is part of the reason that it still hurts as much as it does.

And for those of you who like icky pictures, here's what my foot looks like today. Be warned - it's not pretty! I fondly refer to it as my Frankenstein foot.

Hallux Rigidus

I went to the foot doctor today because I've had toe pain for a long time.  It turns out I have Hallux Rigidus, which in a nutshell is "a disorder of the joint located at the base of the big toe." It's largely due to the way my shape is formed and it leads to a type of arthritis that makes the bones rub against each other because the soft tissue is mostly gone. In words I understand best - it hurts. 

They did X-rays and I definitely have a bone spur where the problem is (which happens with this hallux thing) and the soft tissue isn't so much there. No wonder I can't walk right. He said he can tell that it's made me start walking on the outside of my foot. I told him that was one reason I came in - if I start walking like that it'll just lead to other problems. He agreed and said it'll lead to knee, hip, and back problem. Like I need more back problems!

Short term solution - I had an injection in my toe, which didn't hurt near as badly as I expected it to, and he taped my foot as though I was wearing an orthodic. These don't solve anything but should make it so it's less painful until I elect to do my long term solution.  

Long term - I'll have to get surgery if I want it to actually go away. They'll go in and shave off the bone spur and clean up around the joint and then I'll be able to walk normally again.

When I left his office this morning I walked without pain for the first time in a year! That was great. The numbing is wearing off now so I can feel a little pain again but hopefully it won't be as bad as it was before... I think I'll do the surgery over spring break - because what else am I going to do over spring break? :) Seriously, I can only put this off so long. I mean, I can't wear heels again until I've had the surgery. Maybe that doesn't sound problematic to you... but to me it's an issue. And frankly, it would just be really nice to not to have to limp or wince every time I walk somewhere.  

One more quick side note, it was really kind of cool to see an X-ray of my foot. Hmm, those are my bones, not just a text book picture. Not that I didn't think those were real pictures, it's just different when it's your own body.