So it was just another day in the life of A Ditk when one of my friends mentioned there was a blood drive going on that day at the student center. I love many things in life–sushi, Gossip Girl, sneakers–but I absolutely ADORE giving blood. Don’t ask me why, because everyone does, and I change my answer every time, but for now, let’s just say I love the feeling I get afterwards knowing that I saved up to three lives for donating blood just once!
Obviously I’m not just writing about giving blood once, though, because if it’s considered to be “blog worthy”, which this story definitely is, then it more than likely goes above and beyond a normal day occurrence–which this definitely does.
Anyways, I met 3 of my friends at the blood drive, and we all read some required information, as well as gave some information and of course proper identification. We sat down and waited until it was each of our turns to give the gift of life–via blood. I received a red sticker as I am a frequent donor, and 2 of my friends received green stickers, as it was their first time doing so. My 3rd friend couldn’t give blood because she had just gotten a tattoo within the year, but that’s alright, she came along for the support, so she’s still good in my book! Wow, that was a totally lame statement on my behalf, she’s a lot cooler than what I just said–no worries.
So the 4 of us sat there, waiting to get poked with a needle, basically, when I noticed that one of my friends was shaking. This confused me, just a little bit, because her father is a doctor, so I figured this would be a walk in the park for her, but I was wrong…per usual. She couldn’t come to terms with the fact that she was going to have a needle put into her arm for a few minutes, in a few minutes, and she looked like someone had just killed her pet kitten. The rest of us continuously cracked jokes about the situation, and her shaking, until my name was called. I made my way over to the nurse station to answer some quick questions, get my name and identity verified, iron level and blood pressure taken, and make sure I haven’t visited Africa in the past year–which I haven’t. Finally I was done, and sat in yet another waiting area with great anticipation, until I noticed a crowd of nurses around one particular donor. The kid looked like he was an extra in one of the Casper: The Friendly Ghost movies, and there was a nurse fanning him, while another cracked open an ice pack to put on his face. Apparently his blood pressure had dropped, and he was feeling, and looking, very faint. Then they pulled out the barf bags–it was like Christmas morning in a blogger’s world. One of the male workers came over with an upright stretcher, and carried the kid over to a bed behind a screen to rest. As the kid was getting up, I saw his shirt said Seniors 2009, meaning he was now a Freshman…yet another reason why Freshman make for the best creatures to observe. And while I was a Freshman just last year, I never got sick from giving blood, and I donated like 4 times last semester, so…TAKE THAT, current Freshmen.
Getting back to the main story, my friend and I were watching this while the other 2 were still answering questions with their respective nurses, and we both had the same worry running through our minds–Shakes McGee COULD NOT see what was going on, otherwise she would most likely faint prior to even getting sterilized. We did the best we could, and by that I mean we just sat there and laughed about it, until my other 2 friends, including shakes-McGee, were now waiting with me as well. As soon as you know who sat down, she obviously saw what was going on just a mere 5 feet in front of us, and questioned what was happening. I tried to change the subject, but I failed. Surprisingly, she remained extremely calm, I was so proud of her. It was my turn to give blood, and I handled it like a champ, nothing out of the ordinary. I got onto the bed, they found a vein (that was surprising because of how elusive my veins are) sanitized my arm, marked the injection site, put the needle in and ta daaaa, I was on my way to a full bag of blood and a few saved lives. Both my friends were in their own beds at this point, one of them doing just fine, and the other, Shakes, was lying there with my other friend by her side. I couldn’t help but laugh as I was texting and making phone calls with a needle in my arm, and she was flipping out. My friend and I finished up, but Shakes was still in the bed–white as a ghost. Looks like Casper found a friend. I watched her turn green as I sipped on a complimentary apple juice from the canteen, and asked if she was ok. Obviously I knew she wasn’t, but I like to do my part anyway that I can. A few minutes passed, and she felt well enough to stand and walk over to the canteen. She sat down, and got a can of juice and some Oreos. She then asked the attendant to open her juice can for her–first red flag. Her face suddenly turned pale, yet again, and she exclaimed that she wasn’t feeling well again. One of the nurses came over and said to put her head between her knees–awkward. I’m an awful person, so I laughed as they brought her over to one of the beds to rest. Her face then turned green, it was horrible, but she’s a champ, so she maintained her composure. After a few minutes, she was feeling and looking well enough to stand up and move around again, so we decided it was time to go home. I was cleaning up the table, and throwing out garbage we had left behind at the canteen, when she told me “wait, I want my Oreos”–it was then that I knew she was back to normal again.
Even the most normal situations become the most odd situations with me–oh, life.
The Life of A Ditk 