How was my day? Thanks for asking.

I woke up at 6am this morning and jumped in the shower remembering to shave my armpits. It was mammogram day. I made this appointment last month before knowing that in 5 days I will be uninsured. I was definitely not canceling this appointment for any reason.

By 6:30am I was starving and feeling light headed but since I was trying to sneak my blood work in at 8am before my 8:30am mammogram,I couldn't eat or drink. I have blood taken every 3 months to check my sugar and cholesterol. Who knows when I'll be able to have that done again?

I got to the office at 7:53am and there was already a line outside the office waiting for the lab door to open at 8am. At least I was 4th in line. I would definitely make it next door in time for the mammogram.

Around 8:15am,I was called in. The phlebotomist was one I have had before and she was nice. She asked which arm I prefered and I said the right one. I know this from years of experience that both arms have difficult veins but the right arm is the better one.

When I closed my eyes for the needle she asked if I was okay and I said,"Oh ya...I just don't like to look,plus,my veins are small so if you have to do it more than once I need to think of something else." She said,"You're veins aren't small. They're huge."

I was hungry,dizzy and tired and not in the mood for a debate on the size of my veins but I hate to be contradicted when a zillion medical professionals have all declared that I have small veins. In the hospital in Florida,each phlebotomist came in to draw blood saying,"I heard you are a tough stick." One of them prayed on my arm every morning before drawing blood because no one could find a vein.

Twelve years ago when I had foot surgery, five nurses tried and failed to start my I.V. They finally paged my surgeon and called him out of the O.R. to start my I.V. In the end,the head nurse was able to do it. My surgeon couldn't believe how much trouble my veins caused.

I have passed out in the doctor's office several times over the years because I have to be stuck in multiple locations before a vein is found. I HAVE SMALL VEINS!!!!!!
I'm not proud of it but it's just a fact.
I smiled politely,thanked the nurse and went next door for the mammogram.

This technician was nice and we chatted about our daughters as my breasts were manipulated,positioned and squished as flat as a pancake. Breasts are quite resilient and fascinating things. She asked if I was okay or if she was hurting me. I said,"These things are so huge I can't even feel a thing."

It's kind of sad to think back to my early 20's when I asked my mom to come with me to pick out a push-up bra because I really wanted cleavage. Damn! Now my cleavage is like the Bermuda Triangle without any help from a push-up bra. If a ship sailed in there it would be lost forever.

Well,now it's around 11am and I'm waiting for my manager to call me back. He called while I was out and told Lillianna to have me call him because it was urgent. Gosh,I hope it's not about the note I left him last week saying that if we didn't have enough help this weekend,I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't turn around and walk out the door. With all that's going on in my life,I feel like one more bad or irritating thing is going to push me over the edge.

So,that's my day so far.