{"id":27979,"date":"2019-12-04T14:50:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T21:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=27979"},"modified":"2024-12-24T08:37:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T15:37:52","slug":"a-bond-over-a-childs-blood-draw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/a-bond-over-a-childs-blood-draw\/","title":{"rendered":"A bond over a child&#8217;s blood draw"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p>A lot of kids dread blood draws. Beaudin Larrabee, 7, has had dozens. They used to be torture for him \u2013 and his parents \u2013 as he screamed and writhed in protest.<\/p>\n<p>His father, Joshua feared he would lose his son\u2019s trust: \u201cI have to hold my son down so that he can be hurt, and that doesn\u2019t seem natural.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27987\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27987\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27987\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134357\/tinyLPHphlebotomist1.webp\" alt=\"Boy hugs his phlebotomist at the hospital before a blood draw.\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134357\/tinyLPHphlebotomist1.webp 1200w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134357\/tinyLPHphlebotomist1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134357\/tinyLPHphlebotomist1-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134357\/tinyLPHphlebotomist1-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134357\/tinyLPHphlebotomist1-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134357\/tinyLPHphlebotomist1-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27987\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beaudin Larrabee, 7, hugs phlebotomist Deb Romero at UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital before she draws his blood for one of the last times. Photos by Joel Blocker, for UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sometimes, it would take four people to hold Beaudin down.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A different blood draw<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Deb Romero, phlebotomist at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/locations\/uchealth-longs-peak-hospital\/\">UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital<\/a>, has drawn blood professionally for 18 years. When she was a child, she would resist having her blood drawn. She remembers multiple people in white clothing, holding her down so they could draw her blood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne person helped me overcome fear, and it just trickles down,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She first met Beaudin in February, when he arrived at the hospital with his father, who braced for another agonizing episode. A month earlier, Beaudin was diagnosed with leukemia. Regular blood draws were required before each round of chemotherapy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first day, he was so scared,\u201d Romero said of the boy, adding that she took extra time to warm his vein with a heating pad, and to kindly explain what she was doing. \u201cI know kids respond to tone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She asked if he\u2019d ever seen an orange butterfly. She showed him the butterfly needle, with flexible orange wings, to draw blood.<\/p>\n<p>When Beaudin got home that day, his mother Betsy asked how it went.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was just like, \u2018It went fine,\u2019\u201d Joshua told his wife. \u201cThe variable was Deb.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>She \u2018gave him a voice\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In October, Beaudin went in for one of his last blood draws with Romero, who was soon moving away.<\/p>\n<p>Wearing a little pearl-snap shirt and blue jeans, the blond-haired boy bounced on a waiting room chair as he waited to see Romero. She opened the door, and he eagerly rushed up to hand her a bunch of pictures of him, his school and his family.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27989\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27989\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27989 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134402\/tinyLPHphlebotomist12.webp\" alt=\"Boy meets his friend the phlebotomist, sharing photos with her at the hospital. \" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134402\/tinyLPHphlebotomist12.webp 1200w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134402\/tinyLPHphlebotomist12-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134402\/tinyLPHphlebotomist12-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134402\/tinyLPHphlebotomist12-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134402\/tinyLPHphlebotomist12-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134402\/tinyLPHphlebotomist12-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27989\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beaudin Larrabee shares photos with phlebotomist Deb Romero at UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital while the boy&#8217;s family watches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He sat down in the blood draw chair and started playing with the armrest. Romero gave him a heating pad to warm up his arm. And Beaudin watched for the orange butterfly needle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOK butterfly, suck my blood,\u201d he said. \u201cSuck my pollen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He told Romero that school was going well, and his favorite subject is math.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s so good that you\u2019re learning all this wonderful stuff,\u201d Romero said as she proceeded with the blood draw. \u201cHe does such a good job, and he holds so nice and still.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even with a small crowd of photographers and writers there to report on the occasion \u2013 a young child\u2019s possibly last blood draw with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/an-underwater-blood-draw-experience\/\">phlebotomist who helped him overcome fear<\/a> \u2013 Beaudin seemed cheerful and comfortable. After a quick moment, the blood draw was complete.<\/p>\n<p>Beaudin received a stuffed, yellow bear and, with Romero supervising, sent his own samples <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/services\/laboratory\/\">to the lab<\/a> through a pneumatic tube.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKids have so little say when they have cancer,\u201d Betsy said. \u201cDeb gave him a voice.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27990\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27990\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27990\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134405\/tinyLPHphlebotomist13.webp\" alt=\"Boy sits next to his phlebotomist after she takes his blood at the hospital. \" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134405\/tinyLPHphlebotomist13.webp 1200w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134405\/tinyLPHphlebotomist13-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134405\/tinyLPHphlebotomist13-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134405\/tinyLPHphlebotomist13-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134405\/tinyLPHphlebotomist13-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134405\/tinyLPHphlebotomist13-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27990\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Beaudin Larrabee has his blood drawn by phlebotomist Deb Romero at UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><strong>He\u2019s getting better<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Beaudin\u2019s symptoms began in early December 2018, when he had a 104 Fahrenheit fever that wouldn\u2019t go away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe had no other symptoms, and none of our other children were getting it,\u201d Betsy said.<\/p>\n<p>Later that month, he was hospitalized with a persistent high fever and a mouthful of canker sores. He was in a weakened state, but Betsy said experts suspected he had a virus.<\/p>\n<p>His condition improved, and he returned to school before, weeks later, he was admitted to an emergency department with another fever. In January came the diagnosis: <a id=\"\" href=\"\/diseases-conditions\/leukemia\/\">acute lymphoblastic leukemia<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Beaudin started chemotherapy treatments. But he remained tough. He lost his hair, but that didn\u2019t stop him from playing soccer earlier this year, Joshua said.<\/p>\n<p>Now, he\u2019s in what\u2019s called the maintenance period, with continuing chemotherapy. He\u2019s made progress, and if all goes well, he\u2019ll be through his treatments by March 2021, Betsy said.<\/p>\n<p>Beaudin continues to go to Longs Peak Hospital for his blood draws. Betsy said the appointments continue to be a relatively positive experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonestly, I feel like I\u2019m walking into a hotel,\u201d she said. \u201cThey know his name. They just kind of let him be a kid.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And as for Deb, Betsy said, she\u2019s a \u201cshining star.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_27988\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-27988\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-27988 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134400\/tinyLPHphlebotomist6.webp\" alt=\"Beaudin's family stands for a photo after he had his blood drawn at the hospital. \" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134400\/tinyLPHphlebotomist6.webp 1200w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134400\/tinyLPHphlebotomist6-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134400\/tinyLPHphlebotomist6-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134400\/tinyLPHphlebotomist6-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134400\/tinyLPHphlebotomist6-150x100.webp 150w, https:\/\/uchealth-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/12\/04134400\/tinyLPHphlebotomist6-200x133.webp 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-27988\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joshua and Betsy Larrabee stand with their children Jude (left), Selah and Beaudin shortly after Beaudin had his blood drawn at UCHealth Longs Peak Hospital.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A lot of kids dread blood draws. Beaudin Larrabee, 7, has had dozens. They used to be torture for him \u2013 and his parents \u2013 as he screamed and writhed in protest. His father, Joshua feared he would lose his son\u2019s trust: \u201cI have to hold my son down so that he can be hurt, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2242,"featured_media":27987,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[146,28,49,168,3305,586,2563,833,291,202,388,315],"class_list":["post-27979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-blood-donation","tag-cancer-care-oncology","tag-cancer-treatment","tag-chemotherapy","tag-donating-blood","tag-laboratory","tag-leukemia","tag-longmont","tag-longs-peak-hospital","tag-pediatric-care","tag-stress-management","tag-uchealth-longs-peak-hospital"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - 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