Needles & Big Brothers.

G had to get blood drawn today.

I thought I could take the boys and we would be ok with just me. I sat in the seat with BOTH boys on my lap holding hands (A had to be close) - and two lab technicians helped hold G still as they inserted the needle. I wasn't expecting the first technician to totally miss the vein, and then decide to wiggle and push the needle around IN HIS ARM hoping to actually find it. Nor was I expecting her to just sit and wait to see if blood was ever going to come out (it didn't) for so long as a 2 year old cried. During those minutes, G screamed like he was being impaled, A FREAKED out, escaped my lap and the blood work chair, squatted down and squeezed himself UNDERNEATH a little exam table with shelf, and held his hands over his ears while screaming "STOP HURTING HIM!!!!!!!" over and over. As both boys screamed, the technicians discussed that the vein was "blown", it was already bruising, and no blood was flowing before actually removing the needle. They looked at the vials, and one said well, I don't think this is enough for the tests (um, one vial was only a tiny dribble of red at the bottom and the other two were totally empty - ya think?). One technician then extracted A out from under the exam table and got him some kleenex . After calming down a bit he agreed to sit outside the room as they tried again. G calmed down a little, but when he realized they were going for the other arm, he was NOT happy.

A different technician did the right arm attempt, and got the vein right away without any digging. Blood flowed immediately and filled the vials and G was bandaged up and we were outta there. He cried for awhile (poor little sweetie), and held his arms with the cotton balls/tape out in the air, not letting them come into contact with anything, for a long while.

A had to talk about the blood drawing process most of the afternoon. You see, he didn't freak out about the needle, or the screaming (at first), he said, but about the needle being pushed around so much under his skin. He wanted to know why she did it so hard when it obviously hurt him. He said G is just a little person and she TOLD him it would just be a sting or little prick feeling - but that she didn't tell the truth and it hurt a lot. I have a feeling we'll be talking about this for many more days.

I hope we don't have to do anything like that again for a LONG LONG time.