Giving Blood
As many of you know yesterday Rebekah gave blood. She had never donated blood before, so she was very nervous. It wasn’t so much the needles as the concept of her blood, which she deemed necessary, leaving her body for a greater good. All morning people were walking out of the make-shift blood Clinique with large bandages.
She was a bit of a nerd about the whole thing, because she looked up how she should eat, and what she should drink. She avoided fatty foods including ice-cream, hamburgers, fries etc. and stocked up on green leaves, a bit of chicken, and whole grains.
At 2:45 she marched herself up to the IM room. Alex got a picture of her anxious face (we’ll have to wait until Alex wakes up to show you). She gets there and signs up, and then realizes that the line is so long she should run and get her Physics books so she can study. Being the good girl that she is she worked on preparing for the test she has this morning during the hour that they had her wait. It really wasn’t terribly long, but she was nervous.
Finally they call “Rebekah Long”. She gathers her belongings and marches to the blue cubical. The nurse was nice. Happily Rebekah’s iron was high enough to donate. She was a bit concerned, but her little blood drop sunk right to the bottom of the test tube. It pays off to eat green vegetation on regular basis.
When the nurse was done she marched over to a vacant cot. Sadly, the girl who was next to her didn’t have good veins and it took the nurse three tries and several friends, to realize that she couldn’t give blood. Rebekah was a bit mortified that the same nurse would be getting her all wired up. She tried to concentrate on Gilead, the book she brought with her.
The nurse moved over to Rebekah’s cot after about 15 minutes. She wrapped a tight black band around her arm, which wasn’t very nice. It was actually the most annoying part of the whole process. For some reason Rebekah hates tightness. Getting her blood pressure taken is never pleasant. The black band made it so that she felt her pulse, which added to the nervousness.
In no time the needle was in and Rebekah’s blood was coming out. It was a rather simple process really. She was to squeeze a little makeshift stress reliever every 5-10 seconds. It didn’t hurt, but it felt weird. To be honest she felt a little dizzy and nauseous. To her credit, she tried to be brave reminding herself of how minor this sensation was compared to the pain her mother has endured over the years. The book she brought to distract her was at a very sad part. The old pastor was concerned about the man his middle-aged wife might marry after his death. It almost brought tears, and of course we couldn’t have her crying that would cause unnecessary concern.
After about 8 minutes the worst was over and Rebekah was unhooked. It took the nurse long enough to get that stupid black band off. Whatever.
She was instructed to eat and drink something before she left, and to keep her arm straight to minimize bruising. Oh, and to refrain from caffeine and alcohol. *Whimper*
After 15 minutes of resting up, and witnessing 3 people passing out, Rebekah felt safe leaving. She walked back to her room with a sore arm, but a confident spirit that she had done a good thing. She thought, “People need blood. Jesus would have given blood if he could… wait, Jesus did give blood. He gave it the hard way.”
Well, that isn’t a very interesting tale, but it is a hallmark in her life, because Rebekah intends to give as faithfully permits. She was rightfully nervous. It’s not fun giving blood, though she’s told it gets easier every time, which is a nice thought.
She was a bit of a nerd about the whole thing, because she looked up how she should eat, and what she should drink. She avoided fatty foods including ice-cream, hamburgers, fries etc. and stocked up on green leaves, a bit of chicken, and whole grains.
At 2:45 she marched herself up to the IM room. Alex got a picture of her anxious face (we’ll have to wait until Alex wakes up to show you). She gets there and signs up, and then realizes that the line is so long she should run and get her Physics books so she can study. Being the good girl that she is she worked on preparing for the test she has this morning during the hour that they had her wait. It really wasn’t terribly long, but she was nervous.
Finally they call “Rebekah Long”. She gathers her belongings and marches to the blue cubical. The nurse was nice. Happily Rebekah’s iron was high enough to donate. She was a bit concerned, but her little blood drop sunk right to the bottom of the test tube. It pays off to eat green vegetation on regular basis.
When the nurse was done she marched over to a vacant cot. Sadly, the girl who was next to her didn’t have good veins and it took the nurse three tries and several friends, to realize that she couldn’t give blood. Rebekah was a bit mortified that the same nurse would be getting her all wired up. She tried to concentrate on Gilead, the book she brought with her.
The nurse moved over to Rebekah’s cot after about 15 minutes. She wrapped a tight black band around her arm, which wasn’t very nice. It was actually the most annoying part of the whole process. For some reason Rebekah hates tightness. Getting her blood pressure taken is never pleasant. The black band made it so that she felt her pulse, which added to the nervousness.
In no time the needle was in and Rebekah’s blood was coming out. It was a rather simple process really. She was to squeeze a little makeshift stress reliever every 5-10 seconds. It didn’t hurt, but it felt weird. To be honest she felt a little dizzy and nauseous. To her credit, she tried to be brave reminding herself of how minor this sensation was compared to the pain her mother has endured over the years. The book she brought to distract her was at a very sad part. The old pastor was concerned about the man his middle-aged wife might marry after his death. It almost brought tears, and of course we couldn’t have her crying that would cause unnecessary concern.
After about 8 minutes the worst was over and Rebekah was unhooked. It took the nurse long enough to get that stupid black band off. Whatever.
She was instructed to eat and drink something before she left, and to keep her arm straight to minimize bruising. Oh, and to refrain from caffeine and alcohol. *Whimper*
After 15 minutes of resting up, and witnessing 3 people passing out, Rebekah felt safe leaving. She walked back to her room with a sore arm, but a confident spirit that she had done a good thing. She thought, “People need blood. Jesus would have given blood if he could… wait, Jesus did give blood. He gave it the hard way.”
Well, that isn’t a very interesting tale, but it is a hallmark in her life, because Rebekah intends to give as faithfully permits. She was rightfully nervous. It’s not fun giving blood, though she’s told it gets easier every time, which is a nice thought.
She took some pictures to share with you, and now we’ll get back to studying. Rebekah has a Physics test this morning. Also, it was worth the effort to keep her arm straight, this morning no bruise, just a little red dot. =)
Hey, check out this cool website that Rebekah found during her nerdy research:
http://www.bloodcenters.org/aboutblood/bloodfacts.htm
posted by Becca @ 7:01 AM
1 Comments:
Don't miss my comment below.
Kudos for giving blood. I know it was not easy. Do you remember Jacob needing blood and many came forward to give to him. It is an awesome gift to the sick and hurting people of the world.
Are you still feeling it today?
Love you
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