To tell you the truth, I was trying to hold off until the weekend.
You see, at Dragon*Con, LifeSouth will give me a really cool T-shirt for donating blood and participating in the Robert A. Heinlein "Pay It Forward" blood drive.
Outstanding reason to donate! Right?
Then again, the American Red Cross will give me a really cool T-shirt at the end of the year, as they have for several years now.
Why?
I'm a VIP LifeSaver, Silver Level, which means I have pledged to donate whole blood at least three times per year.
This was my second donation this year. I had a fairly late start, as I was a bit under the weather in January and February. Then, when I showed up in early March to donate, I was hijacked by the folks in the plasmapheresis department. I did donate that day, but it was plasma, so that did not count toward my annual obligation.
Time progressed. I kept dodging the calls asking me to come back and donate again. I always had a ready excuse for why I could not make it there.
To donate plasma.
Finally, I worked up the nerve. No more Ms. Nice Girl! I explained how I had felt that one time I had been hooked up to the plasmapheresis machine and how exhausted I had been afterward. I explained that I actually enjoy giving whole blood and would prefer to only donate whole blood in the future.
By this time, a couple of months had passed.
My birthday arrived.
I always liked to give blood around the time of my birthday. Not only does my special day coincide with Memorial Day weekend, but I like to give back for all I have received.
Eventually, almost a month later and after two ill-timed visits to the donation center, I succeeded in my quest to give whole blood.
Woohoo!
My first VIP LifeSaver donation was completed!
Now, today, I donated the second pint toward that contract.
Only one more pint to go and I have plenty of time to do so. Every 56 days, I can donate whole blood. If I really try, I can make two donations before year's end.
Maybe LifeSouth will give me a T-shirt anyway this weekend...
Hey! A girl can dream!!!
1 comment:
Calendars fill up fast – especially in the summer with ball games, family vacations and other fun activities. Thank you for choosing your day and giving blood!
Your donation is critically important, and gave someone hope this summer - someone like Hollie.
Hollie, a Red Cross blood donor, found herself on the other side of the blood bag. After experiencing complications during the birth of her daughter, Bonnie, she required multiple pints of red blood cells. The donations she received were an exceptional gift at the most physically and emotionally vulnerable time of her life, and she is thankful for donors like you!
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