A Riveting Day at the Center For the Absurdly Stoopid.

Without finger-pointing I'd like to thank No One for my present health issues. The fact that most fingers are pointing back at me, is neither here nor there.  Yes, it's all my fault, somehow.  I wish I knew more about these magical (as in unrealistic) powers I possess…Never mind.

Receiving blood - um, SUCKS!  I mean, not being a vampire and all, each time I am transfused there are new obstacles to face; new challenges to overcome before any positive results.  And, lest I forget, new assholes to insinuate themselves into my life.

Yesterday I was scheduled to receive two units of blood, the BC was way low, so I was prepared to spend the better part of the day plugged in to the damned beeping monster. I had the Kindle, Phone, Music, Pandora (tuned to cheerful, holiday tunes) having already undergone a severe attitude adjustment to go with the flow.  No pun intended.

And then,  HE arrived.  Mr. know-it-all. Short, skinny, loudmouth wimp 10 years my junior. Bragging and showing off his knowledge of medicine - or lack thereof - to everyone in the surrounding area. Occasionally glancing about for approving and awe-inspired looks from anyone within earshot. I caught a few staff members do the eye-roll thing, so I knew they'd been through this movie before.  

Nurses and technicians could do nothing right. He didn't want the needle in the left arm, only the right. He bet them they couldn't find a vein, and when they did, he all but screamed with fake pain.  The needles was eventually removed and inserted into the right arm.  He boasted about his being a medic in Korea (if he gave his correct age, he must have been  the youngest Army medic since the Civil War.  Just sayin'.)

One nurse in my section was so frazzled by his exploits she excused herself only to return with the nurse this WATB** demanded since his disruptive arrival. The Center was busy,  short-staffed, and my nurse was up to her eyeballs in patients with serious special needs. She ignored the loudmouth for the duration, which pissed him off no end. 

Doing his best to get her attention for one of his ridiculous whimsical gotchas, I played the game of pre-empting his requests by asking for something before he could.  My requests were valid and required time and printer access, leaving him to pester his "fave" nurse (known alternately as 'honey' 'sweetheart' and 'beautiful'), who was close to even her limit when his Benadryl injection kicked in.  She may have given him a double dose.  Bless her heart!

When the second unit of blood was set into place I noticed an uneasiness throughout my body. Ascribed it to dealing with the loudmouth asshole (is that hyphenated?) and the discord he spread in his wake. 

To add to the fun, when I returned to the car I found that some over-achieving asshole had parked their Cadillac SUV at such an angle that it was impossible to get into the car. No one knew who belonged to the monster, but a thin technician was kind enough to wriggle his way in and back it out for me.  I guided him out of the spot with only a few inches between vehicles. Another day in the land of the arrogant, pampered stoopid. 

On the drive home I didn't feel any better, even loss of appetite (had been starving earlier) so I knew something was wrong. I drove back to the center and explained the symptoms.  It was then I learned the blood was O+, not my regular type.  Seems I'm becoming more difficult to match with every transfusion.  They shot me up with more Benadryl and sent me home. Living only 2 miles away, I made it without falling asleep behind the wheel. 

By late afternoon my ankles were the size of grapefruits and I was seriously fatigued. Maybe the Benadryl kicked in late, but I spent the entire evening/night in bed.  Legs elevated, dozing off and waking only for a sip of water.  I didn't feel sick, just very, very tired. All energy sapped. I wanted nothing more than to rest. No food - no energy to prepare it in any case - and no interest in reading or watching a video. 

I woke at 2-hour intervals all night, noted any changes (there were none) and drifted off to sleep land once more.

The sun was up when I finally roused myself this morning and I felt much better, albeit a little shaky in the limbs.  The swelling has lessened but still visible. Brewed a coffee and made a light breakfast, feeling more like myself as time went by.

Checking email this morning,  a notice from Virgin Mobile advised me of a change to my plan. For whatever reason, now that I am an iPhone customer, there will be a $5.00 reduction in the monthly charges. I guess they're really trying to sell the iPhone product/service line now that it's available to Sprint (the carrier).  That's a nice holiday gift, to be sure.

A quick run to the market for supplies and then it's back into bed til the swollen ankles are history. A baguette, sliced turkey, and cheeses will suffice for now. No reason to cause further inflammation. Numbed tastebuds aside, I'm very happy the appetite has returned. 

A visit to the State Resource Center is on the gay agenda for tomorrow, for more information on the supposed new medical assistance plan received in the mail,  so I want to make sure there are no other distractions, and all is well by then.  Or, as well as can be expected, all things considered.

It's always something, ain't it?

I'm Off!  Like a herd of turtles...

And so it goes.

*
**WATB = Whiny Ass Tittie Baby