Stealth nurse sets the standard

Yesterday morning I went in to have blood drawn. The phlebotomist was fast (and gave me a bugs bunny bandaid, who can complain?) but she didn't have the steadiest hand and seemed to move the needle around a bit once she was already in. Now I have a big blue patch where it looks like my vein exploded. It hurts A LOT. As I was coming into my office today and fiddling with my keys in the lock, all my bags slid down my shoulder and landed to rest in the crook of my arm and I thought I was going to pass out.

I've always had a hard time with phlebotomists because my mom used to draw my blood and then just bring it into the lab, and she's wicked wielding a needle. She'd wake me up first thing in the morning with tourniquet and vials in hand and she'd be out of my bedroom again before I even knew what hit me. Barely a tiny pin prick mark remained to prove that she'd been there at all.

Now, in fairness, if a phlebotomist caught me before I was even awake I'd probably have a more positive experience with them. You can't anticipate it when you don't know it's coming, and knowing is where most of the discomfort stems from.