Well not today today but this is what is says on the sticker the nurse gives me when I’m finished “giving” blood. Today’s prompt asks what was the last donation you made and my last “donation” was on September 26th, the afternoon before I left for my NYC/DC vacation. So what had happened was…

My first time giving blood was for a friend’s mother who had to have major surgery and she needed blood. I’ve been donating pretty much every year since. I have a rule though…I don’t withdraw what I have in the “bank” for non-family members. For friends and friends of friends who are in need of blood, I usually visit the bank and have them take the blood and then donate that pint to that person. This way I always ensure I have a stock for my family and myself. Most people only realize the importance of blood donation until it affects them. *steps off of soap box for a bit*

While I’ve been a blood donor since 2001…the needle…the blood…the blood coming out of my arm still freaks me out. It’s quite an ordeal every six months. Yes siree. So it helps a lot that The Blood Bank has a mobile unit and they visit my office every six months, it is comfortable and familiar there. The nurse who usually does the actual “needle-sticking” and who I’ve grown accustomed to for more than a decade had major surgery earlier this year and has since retired. SOOO imagine my nerves when I realized it was going to be a someone new. A stranger who is not familiar with how finicky my veins are…which arm is best to use and generally understands that I need some extra attention because I’m a big baby until the needle is out of my arm.

For the last 12 years or so I’ve been using the vein which runs almost to the edge of the inside of my elbow. This vein has been used so much there are little needle point scars in that area. The veins on my left arm have always been tricky…either too small, not stable enough or in danger of collapsing…just typing “vein in danger of collapsing” has me feeling faint. But I will forge ahead…my trusty vein on my right hand was pumped and ready.

Then the nurse said that she just couldn’t use it because it wasn’t coming to the surface. In my mind I was like…YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT THE HELL YOU’RE DOING and I’m going to die on the 16th Floor having bled to death because of your incompetence. Dramatic I know…but hey giving blood is freaking dramatic for me. So she preps my left arm. The arm I’ve NEVER used before. The arm with the tiny veins…that are shaped funny that can OH.MY.GOD.COLLAPSE!!!

I’m hyperventilating at this point. She’s like relax….you will be fine. Deep breaths. I see her with needle in hand ready to stick. And I’m like you better focus on what you’re doing and STOP telling me to relax. I look away and…I…I…I don’t feel a thing! The needle is in and I didn’t feel a thing. But guess what, I worked myself into such a frenzy thinking about her making me bleed to death because she is using a new vein, I started feeling light-headed.

So much drama…she ended up having to tilt my chair backward…so that I was lying down. Blood started flowing again…and I was eventually feeling okay…embarrassed but okay. A little over twenty-five minutes later…I was done. She took the needle out and once again I didn’t feel a thing. I learned that day that the new and unfamiliar are not to be feared. That was the first time I didn’t feel the needle at all and that was the fastest I’ve ever filled the pint. That nurse got skills!

Of course the drama didn’t end there. Like I said at the beginning of the post I gave blood the afternoon before I was heading off on vacation. I mentioned to the nurse that I had an early morning flight and she suggested strongly that I get a good night’s sleep. Long story short…I never got to bed that night. So when I got the airport I felt dead on my feet. I bought a cup of coffee to keep me awake. BAD.EFFING.IDEA. No sleep after giving blood meant my body was working overtime…then to have caffeine on top of that…my poor heart was in overdrive. I started feeling ill even before we boarded.

By the time I was seated I knew I was going to be sick. As soon as the plane started moving I felt like I was going to pass out. It was freaking scary. Thankfully when I told the stewardess that I was feeling sick and why she immediately sprung into action. She made a cold compress for me and made me drink some very sweet juice. By the time the seat belt light was off I was feeling better. Thank you Jesus! Yep I felt like an idiot for not listening to the advice from the nurse and then compounding my error by having coffee…Upside is that I learned my lesson well. The hard way but…well.

*steps onto soap box once again* Here is my plug for blood donation:

People need to be more proactive about donating blood and not wait for something to happen to realize the importance of it. Don’t wait until someone close to you is injured and in need of blood to donate. Giving blood is really about community, and helping each other. According to the Ministry of Health, Trinidad & Tobago needs at least 65,000 units of blood annually yet only about 20,000 units are donated annually.

Also not everyone who volunteers can donate. For example people with hypertension or low iron are not eligible. You can read more about eligibility and where you can donate here.

Did you know that one pint of donated blood can save up to three lives? Blood donation is a trauma I willingly go through because blood is life. There will come a point in my life when I wont be able to give for any number of reasons. And let’s face it, life happens. I don’t want anybody close to me to be in need and I not be in a position to help. So I need to be prepared and do it while I still can.

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I’m participating in BlogHer’s NaBloPoMo Challenge for the month of December:

You can read some awesome entries here: NaBloPoMo December.