Journey to Claire

Claire had a very rough day today and I finally got her to go to sleep. I brought her to the hospital this morning to have blood drawn for all the tests her pediatrician wanted - it did not go well. Of course no child likes to be restrained and have strange people poking them with a needle, but this was awful.

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We waited for quite a while for our turn; they were waiting for someone to help/observe. Then the technician told me they were going to try to get 5-6 vials of blood! The poor kid doesn't have that much in her! Anyway, the tech puts an elastic tourniquet on one arm to check for a good vein – couldn’t find one. So she switches it to the other arm and says she got one. I hold Claire tightly in my arms while the assistant holds her arm still – by this time Claire is screaming. Then the poke and frantic screams from Claire. And now the tech can’t get the vein or blood to flow, but she keeps trying! Finally she gives up, pulls the needle from Claire’s arm and goes to get more help.

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Poor baby is crying hysterically. But the 2nd tech is here to save the day (and yes, that is sarcasm). She goes back to the 1st arm and gets a vein. So now they are trying to fill all the vials but had to take the tourniquet off before they got to the last one – Claire’s arm was turning purple!

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Needless to say, the poor thing had a really bad morning and really didn’t get over it. She had a hard time falling asleep tonight, but hopefully my happy baby will return in the morning.