This morning I went for a medical screening. I haven’t had one since I left the Philippines in 2008 so I thought it was about time for one, since I can claim it from our company’s flex insurance.
I went to the Fullerton Healthcare branch in Ocean Financial Center. I got a bit lost on the way there. 😑
My appointment was at 7:30 am so I had to be up at 6, a rare feat for me. I somehow managed it despite having only 5 hours of sleep and being unable to drink coffee because I had to fast for 8 hours for the blood works.
That was the first procedure they tried to do – get my blood. But it proved to be a difficult task.
After several minutes of searching for a vein in the insides of both my elbows and finding nothing, I told the nurse to use the back of my left hand instead.
She found a vein, but no blood trickled out.
She asked for help from another nurse who tried my right hand.
Nothing too.
The nurse told me to go get my ECG done first and they’ll try again later.
They found a doctor to help out. She tried a butterfly needle at the back of my hand too, before trying the inside of my elbow.
Still a fail.
So I did the physical exam with a doctor first before I was called in to the blood extraction room again.
A fourth person – another nurse – tried my left hand again. It seemed to have worked, but apparently I needed to relax to get the blood flowing, so another nurse, a Filipina, tried to get me to do so by distracting me with conversation.
And finally, success!
Then I could finally eat breakfast, which was served in their lounge.
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