I saved a life today
Apr. 15th, 2005 02:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lumy12... by participating in a blood drive :) (which, by the way, is what my "mood" icon is referring to - I actually am not feeling tired, despite getting up at 4am today)
I must brag about this because I have always been such a wuss about it. I signed up to do it at my last job a few years ago but ended up cancelling at the last minute - thanks partly to the receptionist coming back from it being all dramatic about how much it hurt and how she was gonna faint, etc. She was a drama queen, though. I should have known she'd play that up. (Angel, Jo-Anne, or Julia - if you're reading this, it was Brandy from PIIC... remember her?)
I was on the fence this morning, wanting to help out but being afraid I'd get all sick sitting there watching the blood drain out of me. M talked me into it after looking at my arms and seeing veins practically jumping out of them. She said they'd have a really easy time with me, no doubt. I was supposed to go over with her and J but they didn't have openings for all 3 of us, so I went at 10:45 instead. The Red Cross folks were all super-nice to me, they made a big deal out of it being my first time. I got a "first time donor sticker" and everything. Plus a little blood drop pin, and a "be nice to me, I donated blood today" sticker.
Someone told me the finger-prick part was the worst - but that didn't even hurt. Sitting in the chair waiting to get stuck was the worst. I watched the guy across from me grimace and squeeze the little stress ball they give you, and the blood worker person had to turn the air conditioning on him a little higher... he was fine but that was a little scary to observe. I looked out the window after that until it was my turn. The needle part was just a sting, like getting a shot. Only stung for a second. I could have gone to sleep then, reclining in that comfy chair. I did peek at the blood draining out of me a couple times, and didn't get nauseous like I thought I would. It was fascinating. M came up to check on me once, she told me I would have free lunch waiting when I got done, thanks to our boss (he was buying our whole group's lunch, not just mine). The only time I felt anything resembling nausea was at the end, when they were finishing up. My mouth was tingly and I felt a wee bit light-headed. But nothing near as bad as I thought.
I chose a bright-green color bandage which I am still proudly sporting, have to leave it on another couple hours... no strenuous activity tonight. Darn, guess I can't mow my lawn after work after all. (Now that the novelty of the new lawnmower has worn off, it's just another chore - one which will soon be passed to my brother when he moves in)
Only the 3 of us went and donated - and actually M didn't qualify due to having a tumor on her pituitary gland a few years ago, she was disappointed. I think we should all get to leave early! Ah well, free lunch will suffice. And today certainly has gone by fast.
I will definitely do this again when they come back to our complex. If I can do it, you guys can too! Or if you already have, feel free to share your horror stories in the comments - now that I know for myself what it feels like I won't be scared anymore :)
I must brag about this because I have always been such a wuss about it. I signed up to do it at my last job a few years ago but ended up cancelling at the last minute - thanks partly to the receptionist coming back from it being all dramatic about how much it hurt and how she was gonna faint, etc. She was a drama queen, though. I should have known she'd play that up. (Angel, Jo-Anne, or Julia - if you're reading this, it was Brandy from PIIC... remember her?)
I was on the fence this morning, wanting to help out but being afraid I'd get all sick sitting there watching the blood drain out of me. M talked me into it after looking at my arms and seeing veins practically jumping out of them. She said they'd have a really easy time with me, no doubt. I was supposed to go over with her and J but they didn't have openings for all 3 of us, so I went at 10:45 instead. The Red Cross folks were all super-nice to me, they made a big deal out of it being my first time. I got a "first time donor sticker" and everything. Plus a little blood drop pin, and a "be nice to me, I donated blood today" sticker.
Someone told me the finger-prick part was the worst - but that didn't even hurt. Sitting in the chair waiting to get stuck was the worst. I watched the guy across from me grimace and squeeze the little stress ball they give you, and the blood worker person had to turn the air conditioning on him a little higher... he was fine but that was a little scary to observe. I looked out the window after that until it was my turn. The needle part was just a sting, like getting a shot. Only stung for a second. I could have gone to sleep then, reclining in that comfy chair. I did peek at the blood draining out of me a couple times, and didn't get nauseous like I thought I would. It was fascinating. M came up to check on me once, she told me I would have free lunch waiting when I got done, thanks to our boss (he was buying our whole group's lunch, not just mine). The only time I felt anything resembling nausea was at the end, when they were finishing up. My mouth was tingly and I felt a wee bit light-headed. But nothing near as bad as I thought.
I chose a bright-green color bandage which I am still proudly sporting, have to leave it on another couple hours... no strenuous activity tonight. Darn, guess I can't mow my lawn after work after all. (Now that the novelty of the new lawnmower has worn off, it's just another chore - one which will soon be passed to my brother when he moves in)
Only the 3 of us went and donated - and actually M didn't qualify due to having a tumor on her pituitary gland a few years ago, she was disappointed. I think we should all get to leave early! Ah well, free lunch will suffice. And today certainly has gone by fast.
I will definitely do this again when they come back to our complex. If I can do it, you guys can too! Or if you already have, feel free to share your horror stories in the comments - now that I know for myself what it feels like I won't be scared anymore :)
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I get it!!
Date: 2005-04-16 01:52 pm (UTC)I tried last spring but failed the finger test. I can never remember whether the blood is supposed to float or sink, but mine bounced up and down -- something the nurse said she had never seen. They actually had to take a larger sample and spin it through the centrifuge to figure out I didn't have enough iron (I had enough for me, but not enough to spare). Secretly, I was kind of relieved I didn't have to go through with it. Every blood drive since then I had a cold.
...until this last time. So I did it, and it went fine. The funniest thing was that I had to answer "Yes" to whether I traveled to Europe in the 1990s. (I mean, I don't really remember it since I spent the entire 8 days in British pubs or on the highway, but according to my passport and photos, I went.) This prompted an entire list of Mad Cow Disease questions that all began with "between 1992 and 1996 did you..." I saw the trend and informed the nurse, that 1) I went in 1999, and 2) I'm a vegetarian...so the questions were kinda pointless. But I had to sit through them anyway.
Oh, never take a cup of coffee in with you to donate blood. Hey, it's not my issue that blood drive time overlapped with coffee break time!! Not only do the nurses look at you strangely, they make you wait 15 extra minutes for an accurate temperature reading.
Re: I get it!!
Date: 2005-04-18 07:49 am (UTC)At least you didn't leave your ID back at your desk and have to go retrieve it. No one told me they would ask for ID, probably because common sense would tell you that, but it didn't occur to me. They asked for it 3 times and kept asking me to spell my name and give my birthdate. If they're going to test the heck out of the blood anyway, what's the difference if I am who I say I am?
Well, my arm didn't fall off, and I don't even have a bruise. Darn.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-13 01:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-16 03:08 am (UTC)(yeah, I'm drinking a beer right now...but I had a turkey and cheese sandwich for dinner, that's at least better than popcorn!)