"So how have you been?" The Doctor said as he turned to me with a clipboard resting upon his knees. Those words ran right off his tongue, and sounded as if he's it a few times during the day.
"I'm good, and you?" I asked, trying to be as polite as can be, hoping it would distract him from my nervous fingers playing with each other.
"Just glad it's Friday..." He began to say, as I lost attention and gazed around the room. Snapshots of happy family's covered the small walls, along with a poster explaining and illustrating what is safe to have in your purse, and what is hazardous. It caught more of my attention, but it didn't matter since the conversation to me had turned to my mother.
I snapped out of my concentration on the poster as I heard his voice become directed toward me.
"Alright, so just like normal, I'm going to have you lay down and I'll listen to your heart..." I scooted back on the chair, and began to lay down. As soon as my back touched the chair, it hit me. I hate doctor's offices, I thought.
"I'm just going to listen to your chest, and stomach. Then you'll sit up and I'll have you take four deep breathes through your mouth." I cooperated, of course, and did what I was told. The stethoscope hit my chest, and I felt like I was very focused on my breathing. How do I do this everyday without thinking about it? I thought again.
"Everything sounds great." He explained. Yet another phrase he must say too often. "Now we're just gonna draw some blood, and you'll be on your way."
It took me a minute for it to register.
"Wait," my attention quickly shifted from the Doctor's face to my moms. "Draw my blood?" My body stiffened as I felt my body grow with anticipation and oversensitiveness.
"Yeah, it's a procedure we do now to check up on your kidneys and make sure things are going on okay inside your body." I didn't care, you're not touching me with any needle. I thought.
"Can we just... Not do that?" Shivers sent down my cold body.
My mom went on explaining a situation at my Dentist's office that I will never live down. He laughed. I didn't.
"We have a girl here that does this everyday, and is very great at her jo..." I stopped him mid sentence.
"I'm sure she's great at her job, but that doesn't change my mind." I explained. I don't know if he knew the situation until the story my mom informed him on about the Dentist's office, I'm deathly afraid of needles.
His eyes wandered over to my mom sitting in the corner with a little chair built in.
"You could always come back next week if that will be better?" He said, annoyingly.
"No, we're here now, so let's just get it over with." Her eyes locked on mine, I felt as if she was hinting at me to man up.
My body sank into my chair, there was no way I was getting out of doing this. I was stuck between a doctor and a mom. There's really no way out, is there?
As the Doctor heard what my mom had said to me, he lifted off his seat, I think he got the hint my mom was dropping toward me.
"I'll go grab her and we'll be done in a flash." He said in an overwhelmingly optimistic voice.
As the door quietly made a click behind him, it came. I knew it was coming.
"Mom, I really don't want to do this, please don't make me." My eyes swelled with tears.
She continued to explain to me how I always over think things, and afterward how it really isn't that big of a deal. She was right, but still. I didn't want this, no way.
The girl came in and set a few instruments on the table to my right, that's when I lost it. Salty water ran down my cheek, I just looked down.
"Honey, you're going to be just fine. Do you want a pillow and you can lay down while I do it? I can get you a drink too?"
I declined, yet she insisted on the pillow. The room was only occupied by my mom and I once again.
I continued to plead for mercy. My mom flat out said no, again. DARN! I thought. I'm REALLY not getting out of this... My chest was pounding.
"Alright here ya go," she said as she walked back into the room with a pillow under her arm. Behind her was the Doctor, I think he just wanted to watch me cry some more. How embarrassing. She calmly put the pillow under my head, I rested looking at the ceiling. YOU'RE KIDDING ME. I thought.
She walked over to my non dominant arm, which is my left, and started to prep it. I had my mom come to the right of me so I could just have her distract me.
"She's just gonna do a couple things first, but she doesn't have the needle yet. We won't tell you that. Or do you want us too?" The Doctor explained and I didn't respond. "You're doing really good, just don't flinch."
Mom said the girl was a little shaky, she thinks I made her nervous because she thought I was gonna flinch and she would do it wrong. I trusted her.
As she held my arm with hers, I felt her cold breath hitting my medial epicondyle. Hoping it would help dry the numbing cream faster.
My moms hand brushed the side of my cheek demanding my head to turn towards her, she held it there.
"Tell her about all of those scholarships you've been applying for..." My mom began to distract me, but of course that wasn't going to do anything. My mind was only focused on one thing. I pulled my head away from her and looked straight up at the ceiling.
"What?" I asked feverishly.
She repeated herself, the words fell off her lips calmly trying to comfort me.
"Yeah, how is school going?" I heard through my left ear, she was trying to distract me also.
"What?" I asked again, confused. It was like I couldn't think of anything else expect the needle going to be jabbed into my arm. I couldn't even put a sentence together in my head.
I felt a pinprick in my arm, and something sliding slowly deeper into my skin. I closed my eyes, and counted in my head.
"Guess what?" Said my Doctor.
I didn't reply.
"Taylor, guess what?" He repeated.
I opened my eyes slowly, the pain had decreased in my arm.
"Taylor, guess what? You're finished." Those words were like heaven.
I smiled and looked at my mom.
"I'm really proud babe, now you can say you've gotten your blood taken. How awesome?"
"Yeah, I guess. It wasn't too bad." I said under my breath.
My mom is always right.
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