Venipuncture and Vaccine

After my yearly physical was finished in 2020, I left the doctor's office carrying paperwork from the front desk and a written request for the 2021 blood tests. The hard copy was just a reminder to me to get the work done before my late-September physical appointment; the office also sent an official request to the lab.

That hard copy was waiting for me when I opened my September file. I had to fast overnight. I don't fast well, so I wanted to get the test done first thing in the morning. After looking at my calendar I designated today for the work.  

The hospital website had a list of all the available labs. Every lab had slightly different hours. I could go to one on the hospital campus as early as 6:00 am, and as late as 5:00 pm, but I was pleasantly surprised to see they had just opened an urgent care center in a strip mall less than a mile from my house (and on one of my regular walking routes with Hubby Tony). I called them and asked if I could have blood work done there. The answer was yes.

Last night I put a huge note in the bathroom reminding me not to eat breakfast this morning. This morning when I rolled out of bed I decided I would combine some exercise with my lab visit and walk to the urgent care. Tony decided to come with me, even though I told him I had no idea how long the visit would take.

Even though I've walked past the strip mall dozens of times I've never timed how long it takes to get there. I ended up arriving five minutes before the doors opened. There was one person ahead of me in line. I thought about chatting with him, but decided he might be visiting the urgent care because he was sick and kept my distance.

After the paperwork was completed it only took a couple of minutes before I was called to the back. The phlebotomist asked which arm I wanted the blood drawn from. I requested my right (non-dominant) one. She did an excellent job of finding the vein on the first try, and I was in and out of the building in 20 minutes.

I sent Tony a text telling him to meet me at the grocery store that's behind the strip mall. I was starving, and even though a big slice of cake was calling my name he steered me towards a healthier bagel. I could eat while walking, and we decided to finish off our normal walking loop route.

There's a Walgreens pharmacy right where we would turn to head towards our subdivision. Instead of passing it by Tony and I decided to go in and get our flu shots (another thing that's been on my list of things to do). When the technician asked which arm I wanted the injection in I told her the right one.  Now I have two (invisible) holes in that arm-one that took a tiny bit of liquid out of my body and another that put a tiny bit back in.

Five years ago: Under My Umbrella