Monday, August 8, 2011

Fear the Beard, Not the Blood

I had quite an eventful day today.  Allow me to share...

This shirt for a pint of blood...good trade!
I donated blood for the first time today.  My work was sponsoring a bus in the parking lot.  They are having a special promo where you get a Giants tee shirt when you donate so I used that to try and get more people to go with me.  My mom (a first-time donor like myself) and my brother's girlfriend (a veteran donor) came with me.  So, I'm sitting there donating away, feeling okay and when I finished I was a bit worried about feeling dizzy because I knew to eat today but it hadn't been since lunch and it was now close to dinnertime.  I moved to a different seat where I could sit up and drink a Capri Sun and all the sudden I'm not feeling too hot.  The next thing I know people are saying my name, a nurse is shaking my feet and I feel like crap.  They helped me move over to the reclining chair I was in previously and I'm just trying to keep my eyes open when my mom grabs my hand.  I look up and she has tears pouring down her face.

According to my mom, I was out for a few minutes and they couldn't wake me up.  The nurse said it was because I was sitting up and once they laid me down a bit I came to.  AND my mom said my face turned blue.  She apparently started trying to climb over the nurses who were trying to wake me up (she wasn't yet hooked up) and my brother's girlfriend (who was hooked up) started shaking and freaking out because she couldn't see what was going on because she had a needle in her arm.

It was all quite dramatic!  My mom wasn't able to donate because they were worried about how worked up she was about me (I am the favorite - I can say that because my brother doesn't read my blog) but she will be going back in a couple weeks. 

They are still giving shirts away so if anyone in Sonoma County needs extra incentive to give blood check out their locations.  But you can go anytime and save a life.  Check out Blood Centers of the Pacific website.

After this whole ordeal I am surprisingly less scared of going back.  At least I know what to expect.  I mean my experience wasn't exactly ideal but at the end of the day all I really lost was an hour and a half of my life, and I gained a story and gave blood so it was a pretty good deal.  Seriously, the whole thing is pretty funny now...maybe not to my mom yet but I think so. My one of the first things my brother's girlfriend said to me was "I wish I have my video camera."  And if she did, I'm sure it would have been hilarious.

4 comments:

oliveverlyblog said...

Ok well I could have told you this would end badly. Images just came flooding back to me when reading this post. Let me share a few...dashboard confessional concert, fallout boy concert, and the dorm hallway. Enough said. I'm glad you are ok and poor mom - hasn't she been through you passing out enough!

Anonymous said...

Oh, geez, what a way to get a story! I'm glad you're okay but I can just picture your mom freaking out. I would freak out if my baby was passed out and turning blue. Although, you saved a life by donating blood, so what a fantastic thing to do.

I WANT that shirt!!! I might make a trip to Sonoma County...

Jenny said...

Good heavens! I'm glad you are okay! If you try to give blood another time and pass out a second time, though, please accept that blood donation is not for you. My little sister gives blood every time the blood truck comes around, and every time, without fail, she passes out -- either while she's there, or a few hours later. So don't you be like that!

Full disclosure: I can't give blood. I am too frightened of needles. I go, I get terrified, my pulse shoots up way past the highest pulse they will let you have while giving blood, and sometimes I develop a small psychosomatic fever. It's very depressing, and it makes me feel better to know I am not the only person who has problems giving blood.

Jess - A Book Hoarder said...

Lyndsay - I know, I should have known better.

Stephanie - It may be worth your while to hop up to SC and donate here. The shirt is pretty badass!

Jenny - Advice taken. Next time I will give it the full 15 min before trying to move and if it still ends badly I will reconsider the way I help out.