Chapter
43
After Darlene had finished drawing Elyssa’s blood, she
announced, “I have to take this down to the lab now, and I’ll be right back in
a few minutes for the next test. You
just lie back and relax.”
Elyssa nodded, trying to calm her nerves. But she was too busy worrying about what the
next test would be to relax.
Just minutes later, Darlene returned with another
nurse. “Elyssa, this is Sally. She and I are going to do a bone marrow
aspiration on you now.”
Elyssa felt panic rise from within her. She didn’t know much about bone marrow
aspirations, only that they were not exactly pleasant.
“Okay, hun, this is what’s going to happen,” Sally started
explaining. “You’re going to lie flat on
your back, while I insert a syringe into your sternum, or breastbone. I’m going to draw out some of your bone
marrow, which is the stuff inside your bones that makes blood cells.”
“Will it hurt?” Elyssa asked, her voice trembling ever so
slightly.
“We’re going to numb your chest area with a local
anesthetic to relieve the pain. However,
you will feel some pressure and discomfort,” Darlene replied.
“Okay,” Elyssa said, her voice small.
“All right then. You
ready?” Sally asked.
“I guess so,” Elyssa replied nervously.
“Okay. Lie back,
honey, and just try to relax,” Sally said, lying Elyssa flat on her back on the
table. She undid the strings of Elyssa’s gown,
pulling it back to expose her chest.
Elyssa flinched as a cold substance was rubbed onto the
middle of her chest.
“Now we’re going to give you a shot of the anesthetic,”
Darlene explained. Before Elyssa had
time to respond, she felt a prick, as a needle was slid into the middle of her
chest. It only hurt for a second
though.
“Now we just wait a few minutes while it kicks in,” Darlene
said.
Elyssa nodded slightly, staring up at the spotless, white
ceiling.
“Okay, it’s time,” Sally said, a few minutes later. “One piece of advice, Elyssa – don’t look at
the needle. It tends to get some
patients upset.”
Elyssa’s eyes widened, but she kept her eyes fixed on the
ceiling, not wanting to catch a glimpse of the torturous needle Sally was
talking about.
“Okay, here we go,” Sally said. “Hold perfectly still.”
Elyssa did so, waiting in silent horror for the pain that
she sensed was about to come. She
closed her eyes tightly, and suddenly, let out a gasp, as fiery pain shot
through her chest.
“Hold still, Elyssa,” Darlene said, gripping Elyssa’s
shoulder to keep her from moving.
Elyssa clenched her teeth, as intense pressure was added to
the pain. It felt as if her chest was
caving in. For a moment, she felt as if
she could not breathe.
And then, finally, the pressure was relieved, and the pain
faded. Elyssa’s tense body began to
relax.
“There. It’s all
over,” Darlene said, releasing her grip on Elyssa’s shoulder. Elyssa tentatively opened her eyes.
“You did great, honey,” Sally said, placing a gauze bandage
over the spot where the needle had been inserted. “You’ll be a little sore there for a couple
days, but it’ll be fine.”
Elyssa nodded numbly, wondering how big a puncture wound
the needle left. Although she hadn’t
seen it with her own eyes, she knew that it had to have been quite large in
size to cause such crushing pain.
“You lie here and rest for a few minutes. I’ll be back pretty soon to take you back to
your room,” Darlene said, patting Elyssa’s shoulder. Then she and Sally walked out of the room,
leaving Elyssa alone. As soon as they
were gone, tears rose in Elyssa’s eyes and spilled slowly down her cheeks.
***
