Friday, June 20, 2008

First and Third

No, this isn't some baseball post about my infactuation with the Cubs.

I simply mean that there is a first (and third) time for everything. Yesterday I experienced something for the first time in my 31 years. I finally gave blood. Somehow over the years, I managed to conviently bypass the entire subject. Not even Coach Stewart could sway me in my Jr. year with enough bounus points that I could easily miss the entire second semester of class (and still pass). Nope, I never even considered it. I am terrified of needles. My sweet sister has given me a few flu shots while sitting on top of me. The time had come. A sweet little patient of mine was in dire need of A+ after a recent surgery. So..... Sheri (a coworker of mine) and I mustered enough courage to make the trip to Medic yesterday. We were both first-timers. I won't go into the yuckiness of the needles and such, but we both were very brave. I actually finished my donation in less than 5 minutes. I made my way to the refreshment counter and poured myself a nice cool glass of OJ.

This is where "there's a third time for everything" comes into play. I started getting that static tunnel vision and knew I was going down. I knew because I have passed out twice before in my life. (Thank-you xray school) I tried to get myself to the floor so that I could lie down, but I must have failed. When I opened my eyes there were like ten people around me. I was severely embarrassed!
My sweet friend Sheri saw me through to the end. I was very thankful she was there.

Why does drama seem to follow me everywhere?! Oh, by the way, even though I felt pretty rotten most of the night and a bit today, this experience did not waver my intention of donating again. There is a severe blood shortage. What better gift than the gift of life? I was amazed how many coworkers I saw at Medic donating for this little girl. It really warmed my heart. People never cease to amaze me!