Well, we've been on the crazy train long enough people.
Jump!
In any case, today was a running day. We drove to Titusville to pick up our flooring. I had texted her on Monday, asking for the balance owed. We discussed the weather forecast for the week in that text and I told her we'd be there Thursday or Friday after the weather cleared.
An hour drive in the gas guzzling truck, only to find the place closed up tight. I called her. The Amish had a wedding. She and her husband were headed for Pittsburgh. I mean, why didn't she just tell us that Friday wasn't going to work?
But, we made the best of it and headed over to Walmart. I had a nice gift card. I wanted to buy a computerized blood pressure cuff for Tim. I also spent some time looking at seeds and starter medium. We were in line in front of an elderly woman who was wearing an Army fatigue jacket with a First Infantry patch, and so I had to ask. Turned out that she hadn't been in the Army, but was interested that I had been, and so we got quite a conversation going, which is always nice. After we were checked out, we turned to wish her a good day, and she said, cheerfully that she was already having a good day.
Tim needed to stop at a couple building supply places, and then we headed for home. We stopped in to the new house as we passed it, and I heated up some gravy for the cats in the garage. It is so cold outside. They have a heater inside, but still, I like for them to have a warm meal. It is the second day that I have not seen Sigh, and I'm a bit concerned about him, but the rest of them came gallumping down the ladder from the attic, mewing and winding around my legs as I mixed up the gravy with their canned cat food and a bit of kibble to fill them up. We keep their dry catfood dish (which is another large pan) filled because it is not always possible to get up there every day any more with this dicey weather. We like to make sure they are never without food, even if they miss a days' ration of canned cat food.
Our Smartwatches arrived and are charging right now.
I had an experience today that has never happened to me in all my years. I was having some bloodwork completed. This is not something that has ever bothered me before, but as the needle went in, it burned like fire and the pain shot up my arm like lightning. I nearly threw up. She took the needle out right away, and the pain eased back. She had hit a nerve. It took her three more tries to find a usable vein. She said, curiously, 'Did you drink any water before you came in?' I had to confess that it hadn't even crossed my mind. It's strange because it is something that I know. It is something that I generally do. You can bet the ranch that it will be an awfully long time before I forget that again.
It is single digit cold here and by the time we got back home, my toes were freezing in my boots. It is not predicted to be above freezing for the next week, but it looks like most of the snow is done.
Er... I just got a weather alert.Notificaution on my phone 15 minutes ago.that says snow starts in 110 minutes. Don't we sort of live in the same neck of the woods? Anyway, your bloodwork story gave me as much of a jolt as your previous post. I hope you and your toes are ok!
ReplyDeleteOh brother. I haven't paid attention to the weather. Guess I better start! Thanks, ya turkey!😄
DeleteI feel 17 again (wink) ;^)
DeleteHmm ... water ... never thought.
ReplyDeleteMakes your veins puffy and harder to miss.
DeleteI love that Randy Rhoads guitar riff Debby. Poor lad was only 25 when he died. I saw Ronnie James Dio but I never saw Ozzy or Sabbath.
ReplyDeleteNot an Ozzy fan. Biting the heads off living things is cruel, pointless, and not entertainment. But yes. The guitar is great.
DeleteBummer the tech hit a nerve; that's pretty rare. Yep, drinking lots of water before a blood draw helps your fluid volume so it's easier to draw blood. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteNever happened before, and I felt obligated to apologize for dropping the f bomb.
DeleteWedding invitations are not normally last minute matters. I'd be very annoyed. I've never had a nerve hit when a needle goes in. No one has ever mentioned to me about hydration before blood is taken. I worked it out myself.
ReplyDeleteAmish weddings are quite different, Andrew. They are held at the parents' home and the community turns out for them. I've never heard of one on a Friday. Normally, they are held on Thursdays, so I have questions, but I'm sure she would have thought me rude.
DeleteForgot to say, no invites.
DeleteI used to donate blood (before they deemed me iron deficient) and plasma and so the hydrate prior is a lesson oft told. I cannot imagine single digits on a regular, let alone single digits FARENHEIT!!
ReplyDeleteIt sucks, Jeanie. It well and truly sucks and it is not predicted to get above freezing for the foreseeable future. Last night was awful. Tonight it is 22 out.
Delete3 more tries AFTER she hit a nerve?? You're a more tolerant soul than I, and I wouldn't have apologized for dropping the f-bomb. If a nurse/phlebotomist is unable to successfully draw blood after 2 tries I ask for their supervisor and someone else to complete the blood draw.
ReplyDeleteOh no. She's very good. This was my fault. If I'd have thought to hydrate, this likely wouldn't have happened. She's never missed before. Not once. She's a pro. She didn't want to use the same vein, so she tried another less accessible one and couldn't get it. She just used the back of my hand.
DeleteThat nerve hit happened to me once, by an EMT in the squad. Not only was the pain excruciating, he blew the vein and I had a black hand and arm for quite a while. Sorry it happened to you, too.
ReplyDeleteI guess things could have been worse. You know, when my dad was having chemo, they missed the vein and the drugs went into his tissue. That was pretty bad.
DeleteOw! Yes, hydration is important any day, but especially before bloods!
ReplyDeleteStay safe in that winter weather..hope you get that flooring soon x
Yeah. I forgot. I woke up with a question, and so I fixed my coffee and oatmeal and brought it to the office to read on the subject. Then I simply got up and got my hind end in gear.
DeleteIt's a bit of a jolt when you find something closed and it should be open.
ReplyDeleteIt really is a bit irksome. I mean, I told that we would be up either Thursday or Friday, depending on the weather. She should have said that Friday wouldn't work. But...water under the dam.
DeleteWhat a day. Good things and aggravating things and painful things, all rolled together. But then isn't that how life usually is?
ReplyDeleteSure is. But I had a fine texting session with an friend that did wonders to end the day on a good note. I am grateful for the people in my life.
DeleteI have see-thru skin and my arms look like road maps. But my veins are very deceiving and like to collapse. I don't warn the lab people because they get nervous. If I get the "right" person, it is a breeze. And I have found drinking lots of water before I go really helps. I thought that as I sat down two weeks ago and hadn't drank water - but we were good. I have never heard of hitting a nerve! That sounds AWFUL. Yikes!!!
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty shocking. I wasn't expecting it.
DeleteYour experience of going to pick up your flooring reassured me that your Amish are like our Amish. I couldn't begin to count the number of times I've asked myself, "Why in the world did...." when dealing with the local ones around here. I'm sure they mean well but they certainly don't think like we "English" do when it comes to things like inconvenience.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of that happening when giving blood. I hope it never happens to me.
Interestingly, the people who run the business are not Amish. They have an Amish crew (the boys) that work for them though. They are very pragmatic about things, that's for sure, and being around them has allowed me to become more pragmatic as well. Which is not a bad thing, actually.
DeleteYour trip wasn't entirely wasted, but it was irritating and you have to go back as you still have to pick up your flooring. I've never heard of needing to drink water before blood tests - I'll remember it now. Your experience sounds horrible.
ReplyDeleteIt was just such a surprise. I've never had anything happen like that before.
ReplyDeleteOnce, when I was a child, my grandmother had left a needle stuck into the arm of a chair where she'd been sewing. Not seeing it, I brought my hand down on it and I am sure that needle hit a nerve. I can still feel the electric shock of it, the drawing up of nerves in my palm. Weird, huh?
ReplyDeleteSo is there an ultimate plan for these cats? Is Sigh old enough to want to go tom-catting?
Right now, the goal is to keep them comfortable and alive. If they were amenable to being picked up and carried, around, we'd just bring them home. Unfortunately, they are not amenable. You have to accept them where they are. It would be like expecting Maurice to stop drawing blood. Cats is cats.
ReplyDeleteAmen.
DeleteI knew that about hydrating before blood draws but I didn't realize they could hit a nerve! Sorry you have to make another trip for the wood. At least you got a lot done that day.
ReplyDeleteIt came as quite a shock to me. Literally.
DeleteFortunately I have never experienced that nerve thing. I usually don't think to drink water, but maybe I will from now on! Hope Sigh is OK -- kudos to you for working so hard to care for those kitties.
ReplyDeleteHe has scared me before, but always turned up. Hopefully he will do so again.
DeleteI've never had that happen on a blood draw (which I will have next week, so I hope it doesn't happen then!), but I did have it happen once with a novocain shot at the dentist. I always drink at least 16 oz of water as soon as I get up, so i should be good to go.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to get into the habit of drinking a large glass of water as soon as my feets hit the floor.
DeleteI used to draw blood in college. It paid better than fast food, and after awhile I was good at it and got sent to ER, a level one trauma center. Like other readers, I had no idea about the importance of drinking water prior. We will make a note of that. Your pack of cats has really hit the jackpot in being found and cared for by you. Should that be has or have? Pack is singular, cats plural. Hmm.
ReplyDeleteI would say pack is singular. I didn't find them. Their mother found our garage and...surprise! Kittens! It would be far easier if we were living there. Possum is quite interested in interacting with humans. He was the first to allow himself to be petted. (He was also the first to bite and claw and draw blood, so I guess there is that.) But now, when you walk into the garage with a bowl of gravy poured over canned catfood, they all come running, but Possum is more interested in being petted than in the food. He is a big baby. If we were living there, I'm sure they would be house cats by this point.
DeleteThe tutorial that guy did showing how he made that train jump video is pretty good. Worth watching if you haven't already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozWp6R-hiu4 Has Sigh shown up yet?
ReplyDeleteWow. He's got a number of videos about creating special effects, doesn't he? Quite honestly, I thought it was some dumb kid. Glad it wasn't. We did not go up to feed the cats today. We had a bit of an issue we needed to sort out at one of the houses. They have a very large bowl of dry cat food to get them through. We will go there tomorrow morning to give them a hot meal and to make sure their kibble dish is full.
DeleteOuuuuch! That sounds awful, Debby! I get my blood checked quite often because of my diabetes. There's been a couple of times they've had difficulty finding my veins too. I do try to drink water before I go. I'm thinking a lot of those bad times were because of the inexperience of the phlebotomist.
ReplyDeleteThey have one phlebotomist, and she is very good. I've never had an experience like this, and I'm trusting it is a one off. You can be sure that I'm going to have plenty of water in me the next time I go.
Delete