for lifeee

Guess what I did after work today?
Noooo I didn't lay around on my ass. That's what I did yesterday.

Luke and I gave blood!

It's my first time giving blood since 2006 when the celiac/serious anemia started kicking in and I was repeatedly deferred. Since my last cbc indicated normal red blood cell indices, I figured it was time to give it another go. I've been thinking about it but chickening out, and then Luke mentioned to me that he was going.

So, we went. And it was uneventful. The lady did comment on how quickly I filled the bag; 3 minutes or so was all it took. She said it was the fastest one she'd ever seen.

Luke opted to give platelets, which they really need. I actually don't weigh enough to hop on the apheresis machine, something I know from my own blood bank studies. (Did you know I'm qualified to work at a blood bank, typing and crossmatching units of blood for patients? I haven't been in that atmosphere since I did my rotations. I think it actually made me less nervous.)  Anyway, Luke was a total badass, especially for his first time giving platelets. It takes like an hour and it's much more invasive-feeling than a simple whole blood donation. I'm so proud.

So, I'm going to try to do regular donations!