I remember when I was a kid and I had been in and out of the hospital several times that needles didn't bother me.
I had an IV when I got tubes, when I got tubes and had my tonsils taken out, when I got tubes and had my adenoids taken out, when I got dehydrated and had to be hospitalized. I was in the hospital so many times before I was 5 that I got birthday cards from nurses and I had "Hospital Dolly," who accompanied me through it all. Needles and all things medical were old hat.
That changed as I grew older. Needles became scarier, and eventually even finger pricks started to make me sweat.
That's why I put off donating blood for so long. I didn't even want to think about a needle in me for a second for a shot, let alone for 10 minutes while blood was drained out. I could feel my body growing warm even with the thought.
However, I finally had a volunteer at work who didn't really give me a choice. I told her I would think about it, and I got a message that she had made me an appointment. I asked Nate to come along, and I did gave blood for the first time in May.
A week or so after that I got an e-mail that my blood was sent to Colorado to be donated to someone in need.
It was that quickly, and it made an impact on someone's life.
I was walking to give blood today, and I thought about that donation. I figure, although it still makes me sweat, donating blood is a pretty easy way to help people. It's like donating your hair, it's something that doesn't really take anything to replace and it's not putting you out much, but it can make a huge difference to someone in need. Giving blood takes an hour and some guts, at least for me, but it is such an easy way to really make a difference in someone's life.
Plus, when I give blood, it takes a lot less time to replace it in my body than it does to regrow out my hair.
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