I went in for an iron infusion on Wednesday. I was nervous and I guess Mini could tell, or maybe my blood pressure or pulse was giving it away! I'm not sure, but she knew! She said, "Oh you are nervous!" She shared her experience with me that when she was an early nurse, she would pass out at the sight of blood or liquids in tubes! She said she realized that she had to change her mindset from being grossed out to, "I am doing this to help people feel better." She said she has been a nurse for 30 years now! I thanked her and told her that I needed to change my mindset, too, that this was going to help me feel better. She comforted me so much in that moment. 

Mini got me all set up and going with the IV, iron, blood pressure cuff, & monitors. She would come check on me from time to time, asking if I needed anything. About halfway through the infusion, my feet started feeling tingly. No matter how I repositioned myself, the tingle didn't go away. I pushed the call button, and Mini was immediately there. I told her my feet felt tingly. She stopped the iron - I could tell it wasn't good, but I didn't have any other complaints at the time. She called for several other nurses, and I don't know what all they did, but things went downhill fast. It started to hurt to breathe, I felt sick, I was burning up hot, and then freezing cold. At one point, I was so hot I asked the nurses to take off my socks (I'm a teacher and had COLD morning car rider duty, so I had on thick knee-high winter socks!). 

I don't know if it was the allergic reaction or all the medicines they were giving me, but I couldn't lift my hands, arms, legs, or anything. I said I wanted my husband, so Mini took his number and called him. When she came back, she said she had to leave a message, so I asked her if she could call from my cell phone. She said yes. Since I wasn't able to lift my arms or hands, I had to verbally walk her through how to call him from my phone. She was so sweet and patient through it all. I hope I wasn't mean or rude to her, I was really suffering and miserable! As they continued to monitor my situation, she held my hand and would pat my shoulder. It was so comforting, just having her physical touch. 

They eventually decided I needed to go to the ER. Mini and her team hoisted me into a hospital bed; I literally couldn't get up on my own. It was awful, and I've never experienced anything like that. It was so scary! She kept talking to me the whole way to the ER. Once we got to the ER, I guess she could tell I was out of it. She got close to my face, where I could see her, and she said, "The nurses and doctors in the ER will take care of you now. I wish the best for you, and I hope you feel better." I really hated to see her leave, but I also understood that she needed to get back to her job and her spot with other patients. She was very helpful through the whole thing; from my nervous nerves, through the scary allergic reaction, to my trip to the ER; I was thankful to have had Mini by my side!