I have the rare type - O negative blood, a universal donor. I'm also scared of needles. My kind, at least to me, pax humanis friend helps me with this anxiety so I can donate and save lives. --Anon Guest
Medical practice always needs blood. At least, it does in this particular neighbourhood of the Edge Territories. I heard from some traders that the Alliance can just make whatever blood they want. There's like special cloned bone marrow units that do it. That technology can't or won't make it to the Edge. So people like me are stuck getting stuck with medical sharp sticks so Mediks have a blood supply.
I have two main problems with all of that. One: I have a special blood type, O Negative. The universal donor. So they need a lot out of me. Two: I hate being stuck with sharp things.
It makes trouble for the Medik trying to get my blood out of me. Anxiety leads to higher blood pressure, which - you might be shocked to learn - causes a bit of a jet when the needle goes in. Then I see my own blood and faint, which means they have to start over.
And I went through this nonsense every six months. Until I did a favour for Candi.
There's an old, old story about a guy who plucks a thorn from a lion's paw and that lion ended up protecting his life in some situation. I only heard about it, not heard it, if you understand me. So basically, I'm the guy. Candi's the lion.
I didn't know she was Pax Humanis when I gave her a ride from the sketchy part of town to an even sketchier neighbourhood zone. I also warned her about the gangs in those streets. Candi told me I was too kind and she owed me a favour.
So when I picked her up on the way to a blood appointment, I mentioned my stress to her. How I hated being stuck with a sharp needle and seeing my own blood and all that. About how medicine needed me to donate, and how it gave me every trouble.
"No worries," said Candi. "I'll be your service dog. Easy as."
To be honest, I didn't really believe her, or that her company would work to keep me calm. Not until the parking lot was closed for reconstruction of drainage work and I had to park in a different area. One with gang activity.
I'll never forget how she left them all whimpering and crying on each side of the alley.
That's how I knew I'd be safe. She was tougher than anything I was scared of. Or, for that matter, resigned to suffer through.
I still can't look at the needle going in or the blood coming out, but Candi? She keeps me calm enough that there's no trouble for the Mediks. Candi tells me stories or jokes, and sometimes she talks about the things that the Alliance has. It sounds like make-believe sometimes. And, my favourite, she'll read to me. It makes me look forward to the next bleeding session.
I want to find out if Evangeline escapes her prison-world with Harlowe.
[Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash]
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