Blog No 11 - Probably Not a Great Idea

“Why does it mean so much to you?”

It was a good question. I had to really think about the answer.

My father-in-law took time to do it every other month. Even during his busiest time of year, tax season, he would leave the office and go do it. It always impressed me, but I wasn’t sure if I could handle it.

When my local library sent the email saying they were going to organize it, I felt it was time to pull the trigger. Even though I was afraid my body wouldn’t tolerate it. I decided to talk to my husband, and we made the appointment to do it together. I was not wrong. I did not tolerate it – in fact, it was a bit of a disaster. I can say that now, and even chuckle about it. So let me give you a little background.

I have always been afraid of needles. I have gotten better at it, but there have been some bad experiences. After all, usually when we’re afraid of something, there is a reason why. I’ve had the staff who are “learning” and the staff members who are in too much of a hurry to wait for the person who’s supposed to do it. (That one was a gusher of epic proportions!) I’ve also had the people who can’t find my vein and the ones who have poked one side of the vein and come out the other side (insert eye roll here). I’m not saying poking someone is easy. I definitely couldn’t do it!

Now, let’s couple this with the fact that I have Vasodepressor syncope. This means that when initiated, my heart slows down while my nerves cause the blood vessels in my legs to dilate. The result is that my heart puts out less blood and my blood pressure drops. The blood that is circulating tends to go to my legs rather than my brain which means I’m deprived of oxygen. My hands and feet go numb, my vision darkens and then I faint.

I can tell you that when this happens, it is not a pretty faint. It’s not like you see on TV where the lady gently goes limp and slides to the floor. This is a full on, panic mode, “oh shit, this is really bad” kind of reaction. Sometimes I can feel it happening and other times, it strikes out of the blue. Those are the really bad ones – the ones that catch me unaware. It turns out that this runs in my family. I may have been the first, but I am not the last.

So you can imagine the surprise when I said I wanted to honor my late father-in-law by donating blood. My husband’s response was somewhere around “that’s probably not a great idea.” But I was determined, and I suggested he do it too, so if I had a problem he’d be there.

It started out well. I was relaxed and excited to be of help. I ate a good meal, the staff was great, the needle worked on the first try and I thought it was smooth sailing. A few minutes later, he asked how I was doing and I said pretty good. A moment later, I was in the throes of a reaction, and they were thrusting a warm coke into my hand. You don’t want to know what happened next. Let’s just say warm coke and I are not friends. We are mortal enemies LOL.

What followed was lots of paperwork and lots of blood pressure readings before I was allowed to leave, followed by spending the rest of the day on the couch. A day lost.

But guess what?? I did it! I made a successful donation!

August 2024

And that’s where you probably think the story ends. I didn’t tolerate it, so I gave up. Nope. This was important to me. So, I made the next appointment in 8 weeks and decided I’d figure out how to make this work. Each time has gotten a little easier and I’m tolerating it better. I have my tricks to combat the reaction, and I hope they keep working.

I was dismayed at my last appointment to find out that a huge number of people have been skipping their appointments to give blood as of late. Like not even showing up. I’m sure the company is not advertising that, but the demand is very great. Conservative numbers estimate that blood is needed every 2 seconds in the United States. That’s about 29,000 units needed every day in the US. That’s an everyday type of need, not counting a national disaster or tragedy.

Bonus: They give you treats!!

As a universal donor, I plan to donate every 8 weeks as long as I can manage it. It is one way that I can help others and honor my late father-in-law at the same time. It won’t be easy every time, but I will figure it out because I’m determined. And guess what?

I’m no longer afraid of needles.