IV Drip 2005.

Once in my early college years whilst visiting Korea, I came down with a pretty severe stomach bug and ended up in a small neighborhood hospital stuck to an IV drip. I was in a large empty room with three beds situated well out of the way of any doctor, nurse, or human, and was left to soak up all the fluids entirely alone with nothing to stare at but the IV bag hovering over my head.

When only about a quarter of the liquid was left in the bag, and no nurse or attendant had come to check up on me, I started to worry.

This was the first time ever in my life stuck on an IV drip and I had never thought to ever inquire anyone of what happens once all the liquid in an IV bag gets drained into one’s body and the needle not immediately removed. The only thing I knew was a gut feeling that bad things would happen, and dread started creeping over me as the liquid continued to drain into my arm.

I was breaking out into cold sweats by the time I saw the last of the liquid leave the bag and start traveling freakishly fast down the tube toward my arm. I wanted to call a nurse but in my state of abject terror forgot what they were called in Korean. I frantically considered ripping the needle out of my arm myself but I couldn’t muster the gut to do so. Instead I watched in horror as the last of the liquid zooped into my arm…

WARNING: The next portion of this story is not suitable for squeamish adults or children under 10. 

 …And then nearly passed out when BLOOD (!!!!!!) started being sucked through the needle and traveling up the tube.

When the nurse finally showed up, my blood had all but started pooling into the IV bag from whence all the IV liquid had originated, having travelled all the way up the ridiculously long tube.

The nurse’s face went pale with alarm at the sight of me hooked to a tube-full of blood on the bed, but she artfully maintained composure lest she damage me any further.