On Sunday, I went to Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center to donate blood. This was my second donation. My first donation was on January 19 this year (parents' anniversary). Both donations were eventful. First time I donated blood, I fainted twice afterwards. I think that was because I had fasted the day before. After the donation, I did not drink lots of fluids as instructed by the nurses. On June 27th, I was better prepared (learned from my past mistakes). I had a good breakfast and drank plenty of fluids all day so I did not faint. It was the donation process that was eventful.
First, the nurse could not find my veins. The whole process was slower for me because my veins are small. On top of that, the needle stopped withdrawing blood after 5 minutes into the process. The nurse did not want to mess with the needle as it was barely in my arm. Another nurse came by and she tried messing with it, but she also did not want to touch the needle. Then they called another nurse over. I think he was more experienced. He checked to tube to make sure it was not clogged. Then he checked the needle (that was painful). He pushed it a little bit more, and the needle started pumping blood again. Another five to ten minutes and I was done. I have a real nasty bruise now, but it will go away in few days.
They withdrew about a unit (about one pint) of blood. I got a cool T-shirt and 600 points for their online store. I can donate again in August, and I am going back for sure.
--------------------------------------------------------
I leave you with today's "10 Sec Read: Kings" on Paulo Coelho's Blog:
The Kingdom of This World
“I envy a holy man, who is content with so little,” commented the sovereign.
“I envy Your Majesty, who is content with less than I. I have the music of the celestial spheres, I have the rivers and mountains of the whole wide world, I have the moon and the sun, because I have God in my soul. Your Majesty, however, has only this kingdom.”
