on blood.

I'm having a blood test on Wednesday, part of the regular regime with the medication I am taking. Time was I had quite an aversion to needles, due to the inept attentions of a junior doctor when I had measles. He punctured every vein he could see without success, and my preteen self became hysterical by the end of the experience, which did eventually yield sufficient blood.

For the longest time I avoided injections like the plague, refusing routine blood tests or at the very least forgetting I had to go get one. While I still don't relish the experience, time and frequent use have helped me to get over my fears. When you simply have no choice but to submit to the attentions of a phlebotomist, you have to squish down unpleasant feelings.

So I shall sit in the comfy chair ("No, not the comfy chair!") and avert my eyes while I am jabbed with that thicker-than-most needle, and take some deep breaths. In short I will just get on with it. One only has to look at the situation in Haiti to be disabused of the preciousness that we sometimes allow ourselves. I haven't lost everything, and at least I have access to medical attention, even if it is unwelcome. A bit of self-discipline is sometimes neccessary.