Before my mother’s health declined, I began telling the story of how I was hospitalized in September. This is the first time I have revealed why. After I checked in at the emergency room, the nurse took some of my blood. No one knew what was wrong with me, but figured out it wasn’t my asthma making it hard to breathe.
While I was having a scan done, my blood was analyzed. By the time I was wheeled back to the exam room, they had my results. I was severely anemic and had only about 25% of the blood I was supposed to have. I needed to have a blood transfusion. I think they must have been waiting outside the room with the blood because by the time I signed the paperwork, the medical team was entering the room with a large bag of blood. I don’t know how much it was, between my illness and the Benadryl they gave since I’m allergic to contrast dye, I was out of it.
I was moved out of the emergency room to a private room sometime during the night. I was still feeling disoriented, but by morning, I was feeling so much better. Most of the symptoms I had magically disappeared, including the dizziness, heart palpations and difficulty breathing. I was given another bag of blood my second day in the hospital. I don’t know if the blood saved my life because I think I was somewhat shielded from exactly how sick I was. It definitely started my road to recovery after being sick for months.
So here’s my point: blood donors play an incredibly important role in the lives of many people. Whether donated blood saves lives or improves someone’s health, the impact is still amazing. Thank you to all the people who have ever donated blood. Especially, thank you to the people who donated the blood that was given to me.
If you can, please consider becoming or continuing to be a blood donor. How many chances do you have in life to be someone’s hero?
A good source of information is redcross.org
Dimples and Grins 