Pages

Monday, October 10, 2011

Giving Life

Do you give blood? I give blood. No, not every time. When I can, I give blood. Generally when I tell girls that I plan on giving blood, they get all shivery and squirmy on me as though by saying "give blood" I have physically become the nightmarish needle.

Hey, I don't like needles anymore than the next person; however, why should I be afraid of something that I will have to deal with at least annually at the doctor's? Shots and needles will plague us so do the mind-over-matter thing. It's more or less worked for me.

I give blood when I can (usually I can't give blood because I've traveled out of the country). I give blood because why can I not suffer the pain of maybe ten minutes to an hour so maybe another person can be given some of life's blood? If I were dying or in dire need of healthy blood, I would want people to willingly donate their blood so I might live another day.

My experiences of donating blood have not been rosy - actually far from it. You see, I have small veins. A majority of the time, the needle must be moved while in my arm to get the vein since it is missed upon the first try. To say that the pain is not bad would be a terrible lie. I have a high pain threshold. The pain of that small needle being moved in my arm has taken me very close to fainting multiple times.

Why do I still give blood?

I consider my discomfort and pain small compared to the pain of the person that needs my blood.