Number 2 – Donated Blood

There was a blood drive Monday at the Red Cross office, which is right across the street from my office.  I hadn’t donated blood in quite a while because my doctor told me to hold off until after my second MRI results.  Since the results were good, I was given the all clear to donate again.  I’m O Positive, which they say is the most commonly requested type, so I feel really bad if I don’t donate as often as I can.

So I decided to donate blood Monday as the second thing in my 31 Things project.  According to the Red Cross’s website, one blood donation can help save up to three lives.  Not bad for less than an hour and a couple of needle sticks. 

I went a little before noon and didn’t have to wait at all.  The people taking the blood were extremely nice.  They even put a blanket over my arm so I wouldn’t see anything because I do alright as long as I don’t see anything.  The building is small, so everyone donating blood is pretty close together, which is nice because you can concentrate on chatting with the people around you instead of the needle. 

They also had cards you could write to military personnel, if you chose to, while you were having your drink and snack after your blood donation.  I thought that was just brilliant on their part.  You’re sitting there anyway, why not make the time count? 

On a personal note, my blood pressure and hemoglobin were better than they’ve ever been, which was nice to know.  All in all, I called Monday a good day.

I Put My Big Girl Panties On And Dealt With It!

This is one of my mom’s favorite expressions; “Put your big girl panties on and deal with it.”  She even has it on a magnet on their refrigerator.  It’s good advice sometimes.  Today was one of those times for me.

I kept my blood donation appointment today.  It wasn’t my first time giving blood, but it was my first time going by myself.  My husband usually goes with me (I HATE needles and the sight of blood makes me woozy, so I feel like I need the moral support, and the hand holding), but he had to work today.  There was a blood drive during my lunch hour, right across the street from my office building.  We’ve been getting a lot of mail, email, and calls about making a donation appointment because apparently there’s a real shortage right now.  I’m O Positive, so I feel really guilty about not donating when I’m able to.

So today I decided to put my big girl panties on and deal with it.  I went across the street, all by myself, during lunch and gave blood.  Everything went very well.  My hemoglobin was more than high enough to donate.  This has been an issue for me in the past, so I was very happy with the number.  Apparently taking the vitamins my acupuncturist recommended is paying off!

The group of Red Cross employees turned out to be the group that has always been my favorite.  This particular group is always really nice and always manages to keep everyone laughing.  I consider it a major accomplishment to make someone laugh while you have a needle in their arm.  They realized it was my first time coming without my husband today, so were extra nice and reassuring.  

During the actual donation I ended up between two other donors who were good company and very entertaining.  One was a retired hockey player and first time donor, so I was actually reassuring him that the lady drawing his blood does a really good job.  I remember the first time I went the long time donors were all really nice to me, and kept telling me everything would be fine.  I was a nervous wreck that day, and really appreciated them being so nice, so now I try to do the same for anyone who says it’s their first time. On my other side was a veteran and long-time blood donor, so he had some pretty interesting stories to share with us.

I would definitely rather go with my husband to give blood, but it’s nice to know that I can go by myself when I need to.  

Enough Wallowing

Lately I have found myself sort of wallowing.  There have been some things happening that have made me unhappy:

My grandparents were evaluated for home health care and we learned they are in much worse shape than any of us realized.  They think it’s 2010.  They also think it’s late September.  The fact that it’s 100 degrees and they’ve been watching tryouts for the 2012 Summer Olympics just doesn’t compute with them.   There are others things, too, but mostly along the same lines.

We are being told by their healthcare providers not to correct them because it can scare, upset, or somehow agitate them.  Home health care has been started, and my aunt is coming in from out of town.  Hard decisions are going to be made in the next few weeks.

I realize there is nothing I can do to change my grandparents’ dementia.   I don’t have a magic wand.  We can’t turn back time and we’re told it’s not going to get any better at this point.  I am resigned to the fact that there will likely come a time when they don’t know who I am. 

That being said, I am in a position to help the Alzheimer’s Association.  The semi-local Walk to End Alzheimer’s is being held on October 20 this year.  It’s between where I live and where my parents live.  I talked to my mom about it yesterday, and we are going to walk.  I also asked my friend Lorie about joining us and she said yes.  I was feeling optimistic and ambitious, so I created a friends/family team for us.  Right now we’re a team of three and they suggest at least ten for a team, but my mom and I are both planning to ask other friends to join us.

I chose Making Memories as our team name.  I think we’ll have a good time and make some lasting memories during the walk, and I’m hopeful that it will contribute toward making memories last for people who benefit from the Alzheimer’s Association’s work.  I’ve never done anything like this before, so I’m nervous and excited at the same time. 

It hit me (again) recently how devastating cancer is.  This has come from a few different directions.  There are some people on my husband’s job battling cancer and there have been some fund-raising efforts to assist them with the expenses insurance doesn’t cover.  We’re not especially close to any of these people, but it’s terrible to hear about, and it has brought back some bad memories. 

One of my husband’s co-workers, a man he very much respected and admired died of cancer a few years ago.  I think the fact that other people on his job are now dealing with cancer has brought that loss back to their minds.

My best friend’s mom also died of cancer almost six years ago.  She was young, only 47.  I think about the things she has missed and will miss in Crystal and her brothers’ lives, and it seems so unfair.  I also realized recently that it seems to have made Crystal very afraid of losing other family members.  One of her brothers is in the military and he’s currently on a base on the other side of the country.  Crystal worries so much about him that it makes me really sad for her.   I think it’s compounded by the fact that after her mom, this brother is the closest family member to her.

Once again, I don’t have a cure.  I can’t make cancer and its devastating effect on people’s lives go away.  I can, however, do what I can to support the American Cancer Society, and I can give blood.  Many of the donor stories on theRed Cross website involve donating blood because the donor has a family member who is alive due to donated blood, or was given extra time because a family member was able to be treated with donated blood.  The stories are very touching. 

I’m O Positive, so I’m told I should give blood as often as I’m able.  I’m sorry to say it has been a while since I’ve given blood.  There’s apparently a real shortage right now, so I’ve made an appointment.  There’s a blood drive right across the street from my office building on Monday, so I have an appointment to give blood during lunch.  My hemoglobin isn’t always high enough to donate, so I’m trying to eat iron rich foods now so I won’t get deferred on Monday.  There’s also a local blood drive on Wednesday, so that’s my back-up plan if my hemoglobin isn’t high enough on Monday.

It seems that animal rescue efforts have been failing lately.  Lennox was euthanized and there have been some dogs and cats networked lately that weren’t able to be saved.  There have also been some that were in really bad shape and just didn’t make it.  It felt like we’ve failed them.

But then there was an email from Gino’s foster mom.  He has been re-named Journey, which seems very appropriate.  He is doing very well; the sores on his body have healed, he’s no longer covered in fleas and ticks, and he gets along extremely well with children and other dogs.  She said he’s very affectionate, and extremely well-behaved.  She also says there are multiple qualified adopters applying to adopt him, so he will be in his forever home soon. 

As transport drivers we very rarely hear much about the dogs we drive after the transport ends.  We just make sure to work with reputable rescues and coordinators.  And the efforts are very quickly moved on to the next one, so it was doubly wonderful to hear how Journey’s journey is going.

I also received a belated birthday check for the local no-kill shelter from a friend.  I had asked for donations for them for my 30th birthday.  This friend wasn’t able to attend the cookout we had, but still wanted to donate to the shelter.  That donation brought the total to over $300.00. 

So, while not all of the adoptable animals are being saved, many are.  I can’t save them all, but I can keep transporting, donating, and anything else that may come along that I’m able to do. 

As I said, enough wallowing.