How a Tiny Little Tattoo Saves My Life
I’ve circled the sun 75 times. For the most part, I find the aging process delightful. I no longer shave my legs or underarms. Others opinions are “other’s opinions”. What they think has little to do with me. I never wake up with an alarm clock, and I nap when I want. I read everything I can about the political unrest in America, and my opinions are strongly democratic. The only tattoo I’ve ever had was eyeliner painfully put on by a Mexican woman who didn’t believe in numbing the area. Neither could she speak English, nor I Spanish. So how did I get this tiny little tattoo on the underside of my arm? I paid $60 for that tiny little lifesaving dot. That was the smallest amount the tattoo artist would take for his work.
I got it the day I once again endured five different nurses having their turn at finding a vein from which to draw blood. This is a process I’ve experienced all of my adult life. My Daddy’s veins were hard to find as well. We invariably must endure several attempts to find a viable vein.
Finally, on this day, a kind nurse sat on the floor and had me hang my arm over the back of the chair. From her floor perspective, she could see a vein running down the inside of my arm that was viable. After praising her wildly, I had her mark it and I went straight to the local tattoo parlor to have a bullseye put around it. He felt bad charging me $60 dollars for the little circle and wondered if I didn’t want more. Nope! I just wanted that tiny little circle.
To this day, we use this vein to draw blood for all the tests that we golden agers get. That little bullseye has never failed me! Even the newbie nurse can use it to draw blood. I offer this story for all those who have hard-to-find veins. Tattoo the silly things and save yourself years of misery.
