#4

I don’t know what you all did today, but I saved lives.  Yup, I, along with my side-kick Alehson, saved 3 lives today.  It was a total super hero moment, minus the awesome spandex outfits and the secret identities. Regardless, not only was I able to save three lives, but I was also able to cross #4 off the list…donate blood!

#4 on my list is one of the items that actually scared me.  I hate needles.  Always have since I was a kid.  I’m not too big on blood either.  But I am rational enough to know that the benefits of giving blood outweigh the terror/brief pain associated with the process.  So, you may be asking yourself “why put it on your list if you hate needles?”  Well, a very smart woman, Eleanor Roosevelt,once said that “you should do one thing that scares you every day.”  Well today I did, and it actually felt pretty good.

However, itt was terrifying.  Absolutely terrifying.  But…and I can already see my mom rolling her eyes at this since on the drive over to the blood drive she told me “man up, you’ve always been one of those kids who cries before getting shots and then says ‘oh, it wasn’t so bad’ after”…it wasn’t so bad.  The worst part was the finger prick, well, the worst part was the psyching myself out almost to the point of blacking out, but pin wise, the finger prick to test for iron was the worst.

I showed up promptly at 2:30 for my appointment and Aley wasn’t there yet, the panic began to set in.  After signing in and reading all the required materials Aley showed up and was able to console me briefly before I was taken behind the styrofoam patrician and asked a million and one questions about my medical history.  After going over all my information I was left behind the patrician to finish the survey, after which I was told to flip the sign hanging over the wall to “ready”.  I did as I was told.  Flipped the sign and then sat back down.  As I sat down I somehow managed to knock my patrician over, which knocked over the patrician behind it, which knocked over the patrician behind it, which revealed a very startled individual completing their survey.  I was humiliated.  The nurses actually clapped for me, and for the remainder of the blood donation I was constantly asked “OMG! Were you the girl who knocked down all the walls?” Yup.  That was me.  Moving on now.

This is the photo Aley took of me shortly before the needle prick.  This is my terrified/hyperventilating/they just made me chug a can of cranberry juice so I kind of have to pee face.  This was also right before I broke into manic laughter that produced tears streaming down my face.I must say, the needle prick wasn’t that awful.  It was more scary than painful.  I probably hurt Aley’s hand more than my arm was hurt by the donation process. It was also a good excuse to catch up with Alehson who I don’t see enough, I didn’t stop my nervous chatter until the needle was safely put away.  I did feel a little woozy afterwards, but overall, the donation process went very smoothly, and (almost) painlessly.So, the moral of the story is, give blood, save lives, and do things that scare you.  And, as a bonus I got an awesome sticker (see below)Thanks for reading! xo Whitney