Hello Stranger

by Katherine Center

See? Nothing. “You’ve shrunk your blood vessels.” I peered at my arm like I might be able to help her find one. “You need to relax,” she told me. “I agree,” I said, trying to slow my breathing down from hummingbird rate. She added a second tourniquet. “When we get scared, our bodies pull all our blood into our core to protect the vital organs.” Relax, I commanded myself. Relax.

This happens to me all the time! I'm terrible at getting blood drawn. I get so nervous, and then being nervous makes it harder to do the stick. My husband worked as a paramedic, and he says they used to use three tourniquets on gunshot victims to help find their veins. I've asked for three tourniquets at every blood draw since he told me that—decades ago—but no one has ever agreed to do it that way.