at the hospital

I took Cate to the hospital today.
She smiled at the lady at the registration desk.
She waved at the other patients waiting patiently in the waiting area.
She cried at the nurse as I sat down with her in the get-your-blood-drawn chair.

She didn't stop crying until the nurses had made three failed attempts.
She only stopped then because I gave her a bottle while we waited for nurse #3 to come down to the lab to give it a try.

See her right arm in the picture up there?
Her left arm looks exactly the same.
Four poke marks.
Four!

As I held her arms, stroked her face and whispered in her ear, she cried over and over, "Da da da da da da!"
I was wishing he could have been there too.