24/09/2026
The worst experience I've ever had during cannulation was when I was assigned to a female nurse.
There was a time when I was very unwell, in a very serious painful crisis. I was rushed to the emergency room where the doctor instructed a female nurse to cannulate me. After giving the instructions, the doctor went to check on other patients, leaving me with the nurse.
I don't know if she had no idea how to insert a cannula. She just sat watching me, trying to figure out what to do, and later started running up and down pretending to be busy. I spent almost 4 hours in the emergency room without being cannulated or given a painkiller injection.
I eventually got upset and asked her what she was still doing. She came to me with the wrong IV fluid, and I told her to use Normal Saline because it is a common choice for hydration and flushing cannulas in sickle cell patients and also helps reduce blood viscosity. I then told her to use a short, small gauge cannula, about 20G or 22G, which is less likely to cause phlebitis or blockage.
The biggest problem started during cannulation when she wasted about 5 cannulas on the wrong veins. She was just slapping my arms to find a vein. The veins were visible, but she still failed to insert the cannula. It took about 4 nurses who attempted to cannulate me, and they were just adding more pain to the pain I already had.
I got upset and began to rebuke them. I was very upset seeing my blood being wasted because of the wrong cannulation technique. I was upset about being injected at different angles, which only added more pain without doing the right thing. I was especially shocked seeing someone in a healthcare uniform failing even to flush a cannula.
That day, as a patient, I became the lecturer. I began to teach them how to cannulate. I thought I was teaching only one nurse, but I later realized about 8 nurses were learning from me. I told them which fluid, which type of cannula to use, and I told them to find the cephalic vein (thumb side of the forearm) which is usually the best. It's large, straight, and away from joints. They did as I said and surprisingly, it worked perfectly.
Imagine going to the hospital as a patient who was only at primary school level, lower than those nurses who were ahead of me, but I still had a chance to teach them something I had never formally learned, and it still worked.
After that scenario, that female nurse left the room that same day and never returned to check on me, even though she was the one in charge of me. From that time to date, I have not seen her again. It has now been about 6 years plus.
At that same hospital, there was only one female nurse who could manage me. Even when doctors failed to find my veins for cannulation, she would come and do everything on a single attempt. She was later promoted and transferred to another hospital.
Lessons from this:
1. Patients, especially those with chronic conditions like sickle cell, often become experts on their own care due to experience. This can be a powerful resource for healthcare providers — listening to patients' insights can improve care and outcomes.
2. Clear communication and empathy go a long way in tough situations.
3. It is important to speak up and advocate for yourself, especially in vulnerable situations.
