There were three needles, not two.

One for the blood-taking, one for the numbing, and one for the injection of my own platelet-rich plasma into my toe.

I'll let you guess which one was the most painful.

If you guessed the needle used to numb - you are correct. That was the longest, most brutal insertion of metal and matter I've ever had perpetrated against my body. Straight into a joint that had just been operated on.

And on the way out of the hospital, there were no cabs. Such is New York when you're injured and it's raining.

Don't hurt yourselves, kids. Be healthy, always. That's my advice.