Okay Friends – Here We Go!
My sweet friends at Nikitaland have started this monthly issue of Pay It Forward. We asked for you to keep this in mind all month and to share things here today on what you have been able to do. Paying it forward is not for bragging purposes – it’s an attempt to show how many different things we can do to pay it forward – lots of them don’t even include money. Gestures that we take for granted may be a God send to another person.
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Friends – this month mommy is going to report on something that she has started doing, something that is close to her heart and means so very much to her. She has been thinking about it for some time and to be honest with you she had not done it up until this point because of one reason – she was afraid. But she finally bit the bullet and did it. What you ask? Well, here’s mom to explain.
Thanks Bacon. When my husband Jim was in a car accident years ago, he was in the hospital for over 12 weeks, most of those in intensive care. During that time, he was treated with blood transfusions and other treatments that contained plasma. Then years later, a good friend of ours needed treatment that also came from plasma. I’ve done a LOT of research on plasma donation and it was one of those things that I really wanted to check out since it touched so close to us here at the Hotel Thompson.
Well, I took a big step on 11/18/2015 and went to a center to inquire about the procedures. Now I had done a LOT of research on line and knew about some things; however, to actually do this you have to go through a process that could take 3-5 hours the very first time. This involves watching a short film on the process, reading a short manual at the center, giving a medical history, being evaluated by a nurse and having your vitals taken – blood pressure, weight, pulse, temp. IF you pass all of this, then you are ready to give blood plasma. I was accepted – HAPPY DANCE!
If you have given blood or had blood drawn for blood work, that is how it feels. And let me tell you something my friends. This one ouch moment is *nothing* to how you feel afterwards knowing that you gave to a great cause something that you had that someone else could use.
And today by the time you read this, I have made 4 donations with 2 more scheduled this week. Even last week while on vacation, I got up at 6AM on my days off to be at the clinic and in line waiting to make a donation. Each donation, you go through vitals check and you can plan on being there for 2-4 hours. There is that big of a line which is awesome! I have to admit though, I’m having problems some visits with my pulse rate. It has to be under 100 bpm. As long as I can keep it under that, all of my other numbers (blood pressure, hemoglobin, iron and weight) are perfect. Please pray for me my friends that I can continue to do this. My commitment to myself was 20 visits.
My buddy Nikitaland made up a good deeds sheet. You can get it here. You can print it, hang it on your fridge and just jot some things down that you do during the month. That way at our next meet up, you can share what you have done to PAY IT FORWARD.
AND if you are interested in getting some Pay it Forward bracelets, check out Nikitaland’s post here for ordering information. Believe me friends – WE CAN ALL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Next meet up will be January 6th – mark your calendars!
Piglove 