Jewells of Thought

In high school I remember the first time I gave blood. Several of us in my class decided to do so that day. I am not certain if I was a junior or a senior I just remember I wouldn’t have done it if one of my friends hadn’t have been with me to do it together. The specifics are a bit groggy we must have had advanced knowledge it would be a blood drive at school so maybe my parents and grandparents knew about it.

I can still vaguely see the old gymnasium set up yet I can’t specifically remember anything for certain it’s only been 20 years. Although I can tell you everything that happened with Grandpa’s death and funeral from when I was 13 roughly 27 years ago. It was a poignant experience for me though. I remember when Grandpa Freddy came in It was like he was beaming from ear to ear. I was still a bit tired from the donation just a few hours earlier. It was like I could tell he was proud of me for doing this little piece of American and Civic duty.

Then I didn’t give blood for several years. It was actually a little while after Grandpa died and I began driving to a different church. It was at First Baptist where I met my new church family. The irony of the church having a blood drive on Pearl Harbor was not lost on me. I had to go that morning and give blood. This time was different it was set up in the church in the Fellowship Hall and it was run by the Red Cross. Honestly, I can’t even remember if my Grandma and two uncles were there with me yet or not at that point. I tended to be dependent on them, but if we were heading in the same direction we didn’t need to waste gas.

I will never forget that day when Aaron and Christie were also giving blood. Becky and Steve, my Sunday School teachers I think at that time. Steve was unable to give blood, but I think Becky did. You don’t see blood donations at churches that much but it was a good time for the church to unite and give blood for a good reason.

Have you given a blood donation?

Last night I mentioned life-giving blood and ambulances getting to patients in time. What if they don’t have the blood to give the patients though? My Dad and one of my cousins have given blood on a regular basis for years. Dad had to stop doing it when he first became diagnosed with Atrial Fibrillation or A-Fib and had to go on blood thinners. Dad and my cousin got some neat free stuff a lot though it was kind of neat to see what he would come home with or what my cousin would mention next time we saw him at Grandma’s.

Versiti the blood bank I originally donated to while in high school and the place Dad regularly donated sent me a Happy Birthday. It was the first time I have ever seen an email from them and it really nabbed me in the heart. Especially with the nearly few accidents I have nearly been in myself just for stopping like I am supposed to as a responsible driver. I used to think I couldn’t handle being a nurse, but with my research as a historian into WW2 nurses and my intrigue into the Dialysis field I have changed. Blood is a fact of life, you need blood to live. In Dialysis our patients can’t produce more blood they can’t afford to lose any more of it when they come to any clinic. They come to the clinic to have it cleaned because their kidneys don’t work the way they used to or did to begin with. Blood is that crucial to life.

I have seen so much in the Dialysis clinics in just under a year of working in a few of them. As difficult as it was in my situation I learned and gained so much appreciation for the doctors and staff and where we are from a hundred years ago in this field. The Lord keeps opening my eyes to different fields of interest I am uncertain what He is doing, but I think He wants me to donate more blood and see what He has in store for me on the other side of that donation that I will be most likely giving to Versiti.