“Well she lied.” His words hung in the tense air like knives. The day had started out with such promise, who could have known one person’s irritability could destroy an otherwise uplifting outing? Blood drives during a pandemic have pitfalls and procedures change on a semi-regular basis. Masks are the nom de jeu currently and most people respond with sheeplike compliance, obediently accepting the uncomfortable dust mask provided they didn’t bring their own. This busy blood drive boasted two plasma stations and three regular beds, with forty-five donors scheduled--the most I’d ever seen.
From the start things did not bode well. The volunteer coordinator had called me in at the last minute—someone had cancelled. My assistant was a high schooler marking her first drive. The drive organiser did not appear until partway through and followed a hands-off approach, usually just fine by me but as the phlebotomist lead also seemed to prefer a laissez-faire style trouble immediately began brewing in the form of an assertive male tech (Grumpy) who for reasons unknown adopted a style early on of offending donors.
When donors arrive they march right on in—-they have an appointment after all. Due to whatever reason set-up was woefully slow and when the first donor entered they were not ready for her. I tried to reach her but Grumpy got there first and harshly told her to get out as they weren’t ready. I followed up apologising but the tone had been set and continued as he gnashed his teeth at a long waiting group later and then finally culminated in the mask confrontation.
Two donors entered for an end-of-the-day appointment without masks. As I cheerfully handed them each the paper ones the younger donor slightly balked, worried that the mask would cause claustrophobia and even a panic attack. Concerned, I suggested that as the masks were for close-contact protection, as long as she was simply waiting in a socially-distanced manner she could take it off until it was necessary.
Minutes later Grumpy saw her and the tense confrontation in which he informed her that I was a liar ensued. Needless to say she was quite upset with him. I ushered her outside to wait instead and gave my sincerest regrets at the unfortunate situation. It turns out Grumpy pissed off the wrong person: this donor used to work for the organisation and she had his boss on speed dial. If Grumpy was having a bad day it was going to get much worse later when the powers that be addressed his actions. Turns out blood can be quite exciting.
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