I had very similar.. didn't suspect I was anaemic until people started commenting that I was yellow. My hands and feet were white and stone cold, but i just carried on with work, childcare etc. (in a sort of daze). I only went to doctor as friends insisted.This is so true for Sarah. Her desperation to be anaemic is clearly just to “show” us, because let’s face it no one else in her life cares. It knocks me sick. There are so many people who have horrible chronic conditions that come with anaemia that would give absolutely anything to have healthy iron levels. Then you have this head. It’s obviously nothings serious otherwise she’d have the results. My sister got a call about her bloods/iron once the afternoon after the morning after and she had to go to hospital the next day and ended up staying in having 4 bags of blood over 3 days.
GP didn't take it seriously but sent me for bloods - 9am the next day they phoned to tell me to go to hospital NOW. Like your sister, I had 4 units of blood transfused - they couldn't even get anything out of my veins when they needed to check my blood type. Haemoglobin was 54 by the time I got to hospital, ferritin was zero, and my blood pressure was 'nearly dead'. My kids were tiny at the time and it was all very frightening.
Unfortunately, I have a Sarah-type figure in my close family who is now in her 40s and has dedicated her entire existence to 'being ill' and as a result has nothing at all in her life, no job, voluntary work, family, friends, nothing other than an enabling relative and a massive sense of self-importance. It has really warped her, or maybe she was warped to start with, but it certainly hasn't helped. She is unbearable now.
So I've seen this from both sides, and I agree totally with the previous comments.