Beatrice Casey, Week 5: Doctors, friends and help

This will probably be my shortest blogpost, but some interesting/entertaining things happened this week. Fourth of July weekend was great! Unfortunately on the third I had a doctor’s appointment. Just a usual checkup. One of my biggest fears is needles, so naturally when my doctor told me I would need two shots my heart started beating faster than it already was (PS- I feel like they shouldn’t measure my heart rate because it’s always so high since I am literally terrified to go to the doctor). However, my mother and my doctor had a word together and decided I should get a blood test. While we were waiting to get my shots my mom decided to tell me that I am also getting a blood test, at which point I had a complete and total panic attack. I started sobbing and shaking out of control and I’m pretty sure my heart was ready to burst out of my chest. My mom tried to calm me down but when the nurse called us in the office to get my blood drawn I started freaking out more. She had my lay down and tied something on my arm (which wasn’t even tight like it was supposed to be). She ‘found’ a vein and was about to start the torture. My poor mother, who detests needles as well, had to watch and put a hand on my forehead to try and calm me down. Now, this is where the story gets somewhat horrifying (i.e. my worst nightmare happened). She put the needle in my arm… and started poking around trying to find the vein… as in the needle was in my arm… and she was repeatedly stabbing me. Not the best experience for someone who hates needles. My mother told her to stop and told her that we were going to go to a place that actually specializes in this stuff. THANK GOD FOR THAT. At this point, my arm hurt quite a bit and I still didn’t get my two shots. I went to get those shots and I was still a sniffling mess, but I eventually calmed down. We went home and I was able to enjoy my Fourth of July without any needles. I planned to return to Philadelphia on Wednesday, but I was going to get my blood drawn, so I emailed my PI (and got an automated response because he was not in the office this week) and told him that I would actually be returning on Thursday. I woke up Wednesday morning and I was already nervous. Fortunately, the appointment was in the morning so I wouldn’t have to suffer with fear throughout the day. I did not shed a tear this time (but I did bring my teddy bear for moral support). The nurse was very nice and easily found my vein and it was over before I knew it. My mother was so proud of how brave I was that she bought me a treat from the café across the street. The rest of my day consisted of watching TV and helping my mother with the laundry.

The next day, I returned to Philadelphia and got back to work! That is, until my computer died. I checked in my bag for my charger and it wasn’t there. I could have sworn I packed it on Friday, so I started to worry that I lost it. Before I went crazy, I decided it would be a good idea to walk back to my house to check if it was there. So, I gathered my things and walked very quickly in the drizzling rain back to my house and low and behold, it was in my room. Way to go, Bea… I grabbed my charger and walked back to the lab as fast as I could and continued my work. I met up with a friend from Robotics (Laura) for lunch and we had a great time! We went to Chipotle and talked for a while. When she had to leave, I went back to work until it was time to go.

The next day, I made sure to pack my charger. It was a normal working day, sitting in the lab on my computer, trying to figure out my code. Shreyas, the grad student I met earlier, came in to check on me. I told him what I was doing and confessed I was starting to get a bit confused with what I was meant to do. Fortunately, he helped me out a lot and got me back on track.

That’s really it for this week. A horror story from the doctor’s, some speed walking, chipotle, and much needed assistance basically sums up my week. Until next time!