Taking Care When I'd Rather Not
I had blood work done today.
I would love to tell you I woke up ready to take care of my health and happily headed off to have my blood drawn. I did not.
It had been a long weekend. I was tired. My monthly cycle had started, work was busy, and getting blood drawn has never been something I look forward to. All of it left me thinking, can I reschedule?
I have small veins that, from what I've been told, have a tendency to go into hiding. Blood draws have been stressful for me for years, and I've even had phlebotomists who would not attempt to draw me.
I'm fortunate now to have an excellent healthcare practitioner who draws my blood herself. She gets it done without much trouble, and because I trust her, some of my anxiety around it has started to disappear.
I still would have rather rescheduled.
I went anyway.
There are parts of taking care of myself that I genuinely enjoy. Pilates. Good food. Skin care. Going to bed early when I need it, like tonight.
Then there are the things that aren't particularly enjoyable but still need to get done. For me, routine blood work is one of them.
When the results are back, I'll sit down with my practitioner for my physical. We'll go through everything together and decide if anything needs follow-up. There are other things to schedule too. My Pap smear, mammogram, and the appointments that are easy to put off.
Now, I don't want to wait until something feels wrong to pay attention to my health. I also know anxiety in this area can get in my way.
I know what not paying attention can look like. Almost four years ago, I ended up in an emergency room needing a blood transfusion.
So now I try to do better. I don't always get it right, but I do better than I used to.
I think routine health appointments are part of stewardship too. Sometimes taking care of myself means doing something I would much rather postpone because I know why it matters.
Today, that meant getting the blood draw. I didn't want to go, but I went anyway.
I'm sharing my own experience, not medical advice. Talk to your own provider about what's right for you.