I had my blood tests done this morning. The guy who drew my blood was a real champion…not. He stuck the needle in my arm but…nothing happened. No blood. He tried again, while I was watching. Again, no blood. So he began sort of poking around in my vein, and pulling back on the plunger.

“Ouch,” I exclaimed.

“Oh, sorry, did that hurt?” he asked, concerned.

“Yes, it did,” I grimaced.

“Well, this has never happened to me before. How strange. Where’s the blood???” he wondered out loud.

“I think it’s hiding because I didn’t have my cappuccino this morning,” I managed to say with a straight face.

“Ahhhh, is that right? Could be,” he smiled, still poking around.

Well, he finally got the right spot in my vein, thank goodness, and my blood began filling about one million test tubes. I am left with a bit of a reddish bump on my arm…otherwise, no harm done. I’m a tough gal, y’know!

My results will be ready on Wednesday…but by then I’ll be at my parents’ home in Massachusetts, so Stefano will have to scan and send them to me via email. Fingers crossed…

Okay, now for my “test tip” advice for the day, which I believe will come in very handy for those of you who are nervous about having your blood tested (this is not my case anymore, but you never know when you might come down with a case of the test jitters, so…might as well be prepared). I’ve probably mentioned this before, but hey, it never hurts to repeat potentially useful information, right? 

Here goes: when you go in for tests, take a funny book with you and read it while you’re waiting for your name to be called. This morning my choice fell on “Anguished English” by Richard Lederer…a very funny collection of English language bloopers. In the past, I’ve laughed out loud in waiting rooms, alarming other patients, so nowadays I really make an effort to keep my amusement to myself.

Oh, and here’s another great reason to read a funny book in the waiting room: in addition to relieving stress, laughter strengthens the immune system. It’s a win-win situation. 🙂