Have you given blood?

Once a year at the high school I work, they have a blood drive. I try to make it a point to go. Well, unbeknownst to me, yesterday was that day! Through each lunch, a few kids would ask if I was going to give blood. I knew DD had tennis practice after school & stopping to check in on Babcia wouldn't take long. So after making sure Babcia was ok & had everything she needed for the day, I drove to the school.

When I got there, it was about 2:40 pm. I knew they only had the blood drive till 3 pm so I was hoping I still had time. When I walked in, a couple of people were finishing up. A few of the kids were still there & a couple of teachers who coordinate the project were there, too. I was given the booklet to read about HIV testing & transfusions & being in other countries. I'm glad I'm a quick read so I finished up in a few minutes. A lady in a lab coat called me behind a screen, took my vitals & asked a few questions. I finished the yes & no computer questions from the info that was in the book & Voila! I was ready to give blood. Another woman had me hop (well, maybe "hop" isn't the right word here. Maybe climb carefully so I wouldn't go knocking the table over is better...lol) on the table & lay down. It took her a few minutes to get things ready so she had me lay there & pump my arm to get the vein ready. Then shortly after, we were ready to go. She put in the needle & it only took about 10-15 minutes to get the pint of blood from me.

Of course, since I was the last one there, they were cleaning up & putting everything away. Someone said, "Don't worry. We won't pack you away with all the stuff.". LOL.

When I was done, they gave me an apple juice & some cookies & made me sit for a few minutes so I wouldn't get dizzy or topple over. Little do they know that I do that anyway! LOL. There were a couple of small waters & packages of cookies left that they told me to take since they didn't feel like throwing them out.

So, I did my good deed & I made sure I didn't life anything heavy for a while. The needle site is a little purple but doesn't hurt.

If you get a chance to give blood, please do it! You can make a difference in someone's life!

Making a Babushka Tourniquet,

Collette