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.