I gave life today. And no, not in the pregnant/giving birth sort of way. Not that. By "Give Life" I mean the (new?) ad campaign the Red Cross is using for donating blood.
It was my first time. So I worried a lot beforehand, because I do that about things I don't know/understand. I like to know the procedures before I actually commit. Kind of like my sister when she was a toddler or a little older, who freaked out at the hospital until the doctor told her he was going to stitch her forehead back together. Once she knew what was going to happen, she calmed down and even helped strap herself to the cot.
Lots of friendly people at the donation site. The health history part was amusing because the ... volunteer? medic? helping me kept cracking jokes through his stuffed up nose. "Where is your blood pressure?" (how does one answer that question?) Oh and my favorite: "Can I just see your other arm to make sure you're not shooting drugs".
The whole watching-your-blood-drain-out-of-your-arm-into-a-plastic-bag is very surreal. But aside from the needle prick and the pressure from the arm band, not too unpleasant. I didn't get a blanket though. Good thing I had my puffer vest on, otherwise that would have been a problem. It didn't take very long to actually bleed a pint of blood, though the whole process took me two hours.
At the end, they practically pushed orange juice into my hand, told me to sit and wait for fifteen minutes, which I had trouble doing, because I was anxious to find out if they were still offering Caps tickets. Which I totally scored. WOOT! Double the reward. Oh, I almost forgot about my Peter Bondra bobblehead. He's cute. He even came with a hockey stick. The guy in front of me chose an autographed bobblehead instead of the tickets. Silly man. What's an autograph to the game?
Went to the pub to watch the Caps defeat the Bruins in OT in Boston this afternoon. Though we're still behind them in the Eastern Conference, and Jersey's coming up fast, I see a glass half full.
But enough random rambling.
It was my first time. So I worried a lot beforehand, because I do that about things I don't know/understand. I like to know the procedures before I actually commit. Kind of like my sister when she was a toddler or a little older, who freaked out at the hospital until the doctor told her he was going to stitch her forehead back together. Once she knew what was going to happen, she calmed down and even helped strap herself to the cot.
Lots of friendly people at the donation site. The health history part was amusing because the ... volunteer? medic? helping me kept cracking jokes through his stuffed up nose. "Where is your blood pressure?" (how does one answer that question?) Oh and my favorite: "Can I just see your other arm to make sure you're not shooting drugs".
The whole watching-your-blood-drain-out-of-your-arm-into-a-plastic-bag is very surreal. But aside from the needle prick and the pressure from the arm band, not too unpleasant. I didn't get a blanket though. Good thing I had my puffer vest on, otherwise that would have been a problem. It didn't take very long to actually bleed a pint of blood, though the whole process took me two hours.
At the end, they practically pushed orange juice into my hand, told me to sit and wait for fifteen minutes, which I had trouble doing, because I was anxious to find out if they were still offering Caps tickets. Which I totally scored. WOOT! Double the reward. Oh, I almost forgot about my Peter Bondra bobblehead. He's cute. He even came with a hockey stick. The guy in front of me chose an autographed bobblehead instead of the tickets. Silly man. What's an autograph to the game?
Went to the pub to watch the Caps defeat the Bruins in OT in Boston this afternoon. Though we're still behind them in the Eastern Conference, and Jersey's coming up fast, I see a glass half full.
But enough random rambling.
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