The first time my daughter had a blood draw she was 4 months old. It was one of the single worst experiences of my life. She has cystic fibrosis and therefore, has her blown drawn each year to check her vitamin levels (CFers have a hard time absorbing fat-soluble vitamins). Here’s the play-by-play.
After her monthly CF clinic appointment, we were sent to that area of the hospital where they do blood draws and other outpatient testing. We waited for a while and then were taken to a small room. A technician came in looking nervous. He couldn’t find a vein. My daughter started to cry. He suggested I nurse her to distract her. He still couldn’t find a vein. He freaked out and went to get someone else. I tried to leave. It had been over an hour and my child was screaming. A nice woman came in, the one who had taken my blood for the glucose screening. She was able to find a vein and get things going. But, the doctors had requested a lot of blood and she was shocked that they expected her to get that much blood out of a four-month-old. Well that didn’t make me feel better. So, after almost 2 hours of my baby screaming and me crying and my husband getting angrier and angrier, it was over and we left.
Fast forward to this year. It was April and time for another blood draw. I talked to other CF moms and they all said the same thing, “The Comfort Zone“. It’s a place in the hospital for kids who need testing. I requested that we get her blood taken there and that’s where we were sent. It was beyond amazing. First of all, the nurse put numbing cream on both of my daughter’s arms. It leaked all over her and me but it worked. The Comfort Zone had more toys than a child could imagine. She played while we waited for the numbing cream to take effect. Then we went into a little room. My daughter (16 months old now) sat on my lap facing me on one of those hospital beds. Two nurses came in and a young girl who is a child life specialist. The child life specialist had toys, games, and bubbles. While the nurses took the blood (so much that each arm had to be tapped), my daughter played and laughed and barely even noticed the nurses were there.
So, if your child should ever need blood drawn, ask questions. Don’t assume you’ll get a technician who knows how to handle a child or an infant and his little arms. Find out if your hospital has an area like The Comfort Zone. A friend of mine took her child to get blood drawn recently at our hospital but was never told of The Comfort Zone and had a horrible experience. Don’t assume that if this child friendly location exists you’ll be told about it. If one doesn’t exist then plan. Get the numbing cream, bring a DVD player if you can, and just be ready to distract and distract some more. Stand up for your child and find the best way to make the experience as enjoyable as a blood draw can possibly be.