Blood IS thicker than water, my baby!
I happened to be at our local mall the other day with Em when i noticed a sign for a blood drive going on down at the other end of the mall. I give blood fairly regularly but Em has never donated. She has been with me before while i have donated and she has been eagerly awaiting turning 16, so that she could participate.
I told her about the blood drive and we walked down there together. I also told her that she could make her own decision and i told her about the whole process so she would know what she was getting into if she decided to go ahead with it.
She thought about it while i donated, and then bravely decided to go ahead. So off she went, chattering nervously with the technician. I felt pretty proud of her right then.
All went well until she actually had the needle in her arm, and then for some reason her blood kept clotting and so she couldn't manage to get out the required amount. They told her that she needed to drink more water or that maybe she had lots of platelets.
As we left the place she burst into tears because she was so disappointed. I found that to be very cute.
36 comments:
Em sounds like a real trooper. Me, I can stand tattooing needles for hours upon end without fail, but one touch of an iv needle and I get queasy. It makes me sorta mad because I've got good veins for it, just not a very good stomach. *lol*
Wow! Most kids wont willingly sit there for it! I am very impressed!
Bravo for Em. Juice her up next time and better luck.
A friend and I gave up our lunch hour, took a bus and went over to give blood. After paperwork etc neither of us was allowed to. He was gay and they wouldn't take his blood. And I'd just gotten stitches after slicing my finger with pruners.
like mother, so is daughter.
she's a testimony to teenagehood everywhere.
I don't know that I'd call it "cute," but I'm impressed that she was that invested as to be disappointed that she couldn't go through with it - even if it were through no fault of her own. She gets good karma points for that.
What a sweetheart. I hope she has better luck next time.
I couldn't donate blood until I was in my mid-twenties because I didn't weigh enough. Yeah, don't hate me.
So, if you don't comment or blog for 2 weeks, does your blog cherry grow back? And did I just break it here? ;-)
What a wonderful thing for Em to do...I was well into adulthood before I began donating. I know she's disappointed but I'm guessing she will try again and hopefully they will have better luck the next time drawing her blood. Good for her for volunteering!
Awww, I mostly think it's sweet that she wants to be like her mom. :)
You're raising a good kid Meno. I personally am not allowed to give blood (lived in England too long and extremely low blood pressure) which is too bad b/c I am O positive.
It stinks when you want to do something good...and for whatever reason can't. Good for Em for trying...I hope that the disappointment doesn't stop her from trying again. I always thought you had to be 18 to donate...shows you what I know.
irrelephant, there is a major difference between a little needle buzzing over your skin and one being inserted into a vein.
toni, i thought it was pretty cool of her too.
amusing, i tried to get the technician to tell her to eat more vegetable in addition to drinking more water, but that didn't work out. :) It's a bummer when you are all prepared to give blood and then you can't. I've had that happen after i visited some weird place in Mexico, and after my tattoo.
jen, it's pretty cute how idealistic she is. I remember mentioning giving blood to my mother at Em's age and she told me in a huffy voice that she didn't think women should give blood. EVER! I was too surprised to ask why, and i guess ashamed that this was another rule that i didn't seem to know.
mrs.chili, that's pretty much what i told her too. :)
de, we'll see if i can get her in again after that experience. maybe in a year or two.
nancy, i always laugh when i get to the question of whether i weigh over 110 pounds. You've seen me, when was the last time you think i weighed less than 110 pounds? 5th grade maybe? Oh, and i am honored to be the poppee.
joan, i am very pleased with her willing spirit.
lee, You know how it's mostly a deadly insult to tell someone that they are just like their mother? (It is for me.) If you tell Em this, she just says, "i know." The future can be spared from the past.
u-u, is that a mad cow thing? I am O+ too. They love to take my blood. My brother is 0-, they love him even more.
lynn, you can be 16 with parental approval. And i wish it had worked out because she was so brave, but oh well!
I used to donate fairly frequently. Then the Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease came along. We lived in the wrong place at the wrong time for too long while being in the military and I can no longer donate. Ironically, the last time I donated I had the same problem Em did - my blood clotted in the needle and had to stop. Neither Laura nor the kids can donate either.
good for Em for trying, she'll get her first pint soon enough.
OMG - I am one of the people that they think is going to faint, it makes me so sick to see my blood going out of my body. I only do it rarely.
I did donate some eggs once to two couples, so I feel like maybe that makes up for my lack of blood donation. I am AB positive, which they never seem too interested in, anyway.
What a sweet and thoughtful person!
Great gift is blood...I'm an O neg so universal donor...as you said pretty popular, everyone (in an emergency situation)may have my blood but I can only have my own kind..good stuff, blood..for sure.
Pam
She's far braver than I am. I have always feared needles intensely, and am thankful to be under the weight limit so I can't donate and don't have to admit it is really because I am a big weenie.
Pops has been giving blood forever. He loves free stuff like my sister, so I think he is going fo the watch, next. I went and gave once with him. We are so competitive, we were actually sitting next to each other, RACING to get our bags filled first. I was pumping and balling my fist crazily and I beat the bastard by about 2 ounces... Ha!
My billiruben (sp?) is wrong (I was a jaundiced baby) so they won't take my blood, it turns out.
Pops and I have high platelet counts, so what he really gives are platelets...
The needle and the goodness done...
how sweet that she wants this so much. My blood doesnt' cooperate for donations either. fortunately my blood type is not rare and hardly anyone needs my type. So, I am spared the guilt of not giving.
Another Lynn!
I;m a new Lynn.
I try to donate, I think in my area there is a critical need for all types, they are always short.
Its a good thing to do and doesn't take long.
I am so afraid of needles that I usually do throw up from the trauma of donating blood. Yet I have o negative so I try. My veins are very small and it takes them forever to get me going and then they use such a thin needle that it takes forever. I used to donate all the time while we were overseas, and it went to the troops. Now that I am home, my blood is no longer wanted, I am tainted by my travels. I think they will allow me back in a few years. I would have cried if I was Em, all that scared and dissapointed mixed together has to come out.
As someone who has had to have many transfusions, thank you. Are you an organ donor too? People like you save lives, and I'm glad Em has learned from you.
good for Em for trying, I say. I can't donate, due to my diabetes, and I'll be forever dissapointed that I can't contribute anymore.
I'm excited for her enthusiasm. I've yet to donate blood because I really don't like needles. Does donating to the local food bank and giving heaps of stuff to Goodwill make up for this? I find it cute that you find Em's actions cute.
What a valiant girl! You must be so proud. Is she drinking more water now?
Good for her! (Tell her it's the thought that counts.)
Little anecdote of mine: I gave blood for the first time when I was a college student and they had a campus blood drive. I was standing in line next to some hefty football players who looked at my skimpy little body (yes, it once was, LOL), and said, "Careful you don't faint." Half an hour later, I had managed to give my blood, eat a cookie and was waltzing out of there just as the medics were resuscitating the brawny football player who had fainted a few seconds into the 'ordeal.' ;-0
Sometimes it does take an extra intake of water prior to giving blood. I have to do that in order for the nurse to get enough and they have told me it's common with some people. Fortunately we have more than enough notice of blood drives here at work so that I can plan to drink plenty of water ahead of time.
Oh, I feel bad for her. :) You know, she had her heart set on it... but now she knows what to do the next time.
Peace,
~chani
bob, there sure are a lot of reasons to not be able to donate. I hope she does get her first pint soon too.
qt, we all do what we can, and if you can't donate blood, then that's ok. Eggs huh? That sounds like a story to me.
pam, yep, we all love your blood.
cs, no weight limit problem for me, but Em is close to it. It's ok to be a weenie too.
scott, blood donation as a competitive sport. I only get lousy cookies for donating. I want a watch!
d-man, i love Neil.
reflecting pool, how sad, no one wants your blood, so you don't have to get needles stuck in your arm. :)
lynn, hi new lynn!
marsha, how brave of you to donate despite your fear.
ttq, we are both organ donors. If i'm dead, they can have whatever they want.
tara, i would be disappointed too. But at least you have tried.
egan, it absolutely makes up for this.
maggie, probably not. But i am trying to make some good iced teas to shove down her throat.
ortizzle, heh heh, great story. I did tell her that it was the thought.
moose buyer, i will try and get her to drink more all the time, we'll see if she ever tries again. We don't usually get any notice though.
She will be a great platelet donor when she gets a bit older. (It takes a few hours of sitting in that chair to donate them, but they are sorely needed!) It is a mark of how brave she is at 16 to actually try to donate.
hooray for you both! I am ashamed to say that I have never given blood--for a long time I didn't weigh enough (clearly long ago), then I went to Africa and worked in a clinic (won't take you for years after being there), then was too anemic---but now, I am healthy as a horse and in your daughters honor I am going to go and donate this week!
I have been on the bone marrow donor list for 16 years with no matches--so I encourage all of you to join that as well. You really can save a life.
That is brave! Did they tell her to get her platelets and clotting factor checked out?
They usually phone my husband as he has the universal donor type. They've never let me donate...too much sugar! Only mosquitoes love my blood for dessert!
chani, i will ply her with liquid from now on.
schmoopie, i don't think i would have been that brave at her age, but i never saw my mother donate either, so maybe that's why she was willing.
ellie, i am on the bone marrow list also. And that is sweet of you to go donate. Let me know how it goes.
moi, no, they didn't say anything about that. I am wondering if there wasn't a piece of skin caught in the needle as her arm was very bruised.
that happened to me once too. i cried and cried because i was embarrassed about why on earth other people might think i was being turned away---but that's because i'm a shallow, vain bitch.
I was telling Laura last night about this post and the various responses and she told me that when people ask her if she's going to give blood, she tells them that she's a mad cow and they won't let her.
I just spent a couple of days at Boy Scout camp. One of the kids has Hemophilia. Severe Hemophilia.
Nothing says nausea like watching a 12-year old Hemophiliac whittle a stick.
He got a nosebleed the first morning I was there. He got 4 more nosebleeds that day. He got 3 more the next day. They lasted from 5 to 25 minutes. This happens to him once a month or so. It became my job to sit with him until they were over.
H has another nosebleed! Someone would announce, and I'd check my watch to record the time, then reach for the paper towels, the latex gloves, and a trash bag for the biohazard waste. He'd sit in a chair at the Leader's table and I'd perch next to him and chatter away until the bleeding had stopped. Then we'd walk up to first aid, where we'd dispose of the waste, he'd take some pills, we'd both wash our hands, and then I'd walk him on to his scheduled activity.
He bled profusely from the left nostril, although once it was from both. Then he'd hawk these horrible bloody noogies into the bag that I held open for him to spit into. It got so I hated the sound of him sniffling in.
The kid was also awfully homesick. Can't blame him, actually, but I got tired of that, too.
Tell Em that having lots of platelets is good. Tell her to drink lots of water because it is good for her. And then tell her to try again with the blood donation, when she is ready.
Don't tell her how happy I was when I found out that I was no longer allowed to donate blood.
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