“But I don’t want them to do a blood test!” Alex said, covering his arm and looking to his mom for support.
“It will save us time,” his mom responded. “We would have to drive all the way back here another day.” He was in my office for his first visit, and I had discussed blood tests that might help us figure out the underlying cause for his medical problems.
I piped in, “My nurse, Linda, is still here. She’s slick at drawing blood.” I was glad I didn’t have to find the 11-year-old’s veins myself.
Alex resigned himself to being poked. As Linda sat down and started searching for a decent vein, Sue and I asked Alex about his hobbies. He played football. We kept the conversation going, asking him questions, as Linda did her thing.
When she was done, Alex looked at his Band-Aid and shrugged. That hadn’t been too bad.
His mom thanked us for the teamwork.
Medicine the way it should be!