1 hour ago
3
The nurse’s needle sank into my skin without resistance.
It hurt on entry, but I didn’t flinch.
The nurse followed up with another, then another, which my arm dutifully filled. By the fourth and final tube, the nurse was labelling everything, remarking that I was remarkably ‘chill’ about needles. I just laughed.
It was easy to make light of it in that moment, but she couldn’t have known what a big deal it really was for me, how afraid I’d have been in the past.
I felt proud at how far I’d come, and how I’d got there. I’d been afraid of needles since I was a child. The thought of a sharp object piercing my skin had terrified me, and I had to be held down by dentists and nurses for injections on many occasions.
English (US)