After my senior year of high school, my mother and I headed to the Health Department for my vaccinations. After the first shot I felt a little woozy and before the nurse could put the band-aid on the second one, I was (apparently) on the floor convulsing. From then on I had to go to extreme caution when a needle was involved.
With that said, giving blood has never been on my radar. I guess I was still on a high from HOG Day when I signed up for my appointment at The Blood Connection. And to be honest, it was nothing.
But here’s the funny part…The pre-screening process for giving blood is a cross between a first date and a job interview. You have to complete a mini physical to prove you’re healthy and then comes the questionnaire. Wow! I never in my life thought I’d be asked about intravenous drug use and sex with prostitutes or farm animals while on my lunch break. As the screener went to retest my iron levels I felt the pangs of rejection slowly creeping in.
But I passed, (YAY!) and I’m apparently an excellent blood giver, if I do say so myself. If you keep reading you’ll see that four days later I headed to Kentucky for the Derby and a trip to Maker’s Mark. Good thing it’ll be 2 months before I can donate again because I think it’ll take that long to get all the bourbon out of my system.
In all honesty, for those of you that are healthy enough to give blood then please do so. A year ago I wouldn’t have passed the screening (for health reasons, not because of my secret animal fetish). For me it was a great feeling of accomplishment to be considered healthy enough to give life to another. So go donate!
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