We are back into waiting mode again. The last few things on the schedule are just about getting ready for the big event.
Donating blood
Have you ever donated blood? If you are like most folks, the answer is NO! That is sad! One of my students told me today that he could not bring himself to do that because of a fear of needles. Trust me, the days when they used rusty hollowed out ten penny nails for this are long over (HA!) It may look like that to you are they home in on your arm, but it is a tiny needle, very shiny, and hardly hurts at all (OMG! the pain! Just fooling).
In an emergency, blood is a life saver. If you get hurt and lose blood, the only way to keep you alive is to put blood back in. You have about 2 pints of blood for every 25 pounds of body weight. That add up to a lot of blood, so giving a pint or two is not going to hurt you. Your body will manufacture more to replace what you donate.
Everyone has a specific blood type, and you need exactly that type of blood to keep you going. The problem is that blood banks, where the medical folks get blood to give back to you, depend on volunteers to provide it. Quite a lot of folks do make donations, but far more do not. The donated blood only lasts so long, then they have to destroy it. So, the supply has issues depending on what is going on at any moment.
They are also fairly paranoid these days about testing the blood to make sure nothing evil is in the blood they give to others. I had to prove I was who I was claiming to be several times during the process, which seemed amusing until you think about why they do all this!
The mechanical vampire
Yesterday, I went to the Austin Blood Bank and donated some of my own blood, in case I need it back during surgery. This is an especially good thing to do, and since my surgery is going to be tough, I may need the blood. So, I gave 2 pints! Yikes!
By the way, if you have ever had cancer, they do not want your blood, but you can donate for yourself!
The entire experience took around an hour. Half of that was just filling our forms! Typical of the health care system we live with, I suppose.
Once I was ready, they made me lie down on a nice laid back couch, and started seeking our a likely vein to get the needle. They swabbed the area down with iodine (after making sure you are not allergic to such stuff) and then stuck me with the needle.
I have had blood drawn for testing many times during my first round of cancer, so I knew what that was going to be like, But somehow, I expected this to be more intense. Surprise, same thing as before. It was just a "pinch" which I hardly felt. Most of the "pain" associated with things like this is all in your head. As the needle gets closer, you brain make it get REALLY BIG!. I do not like needles, but I am over worrying about them. Good thing! I will see a bunch of them before this is all over.
What was different this time was that instead of hooking up a syringe and pulling in a bit of blood for testing, they hooked up a rubber hose (small) and attached it to the mechanical vampire! This is a funny rotary pump that pulls in blood, then pushes back fluids to make sure you do not shrivel up like a prune.
You sit there for about a half an hour squeezing on a rubber ball (actually mine was a rubber star. This is Texas after all!). The squeezing helps keep things moving, or so they said. What it really did was make my arm tired!
The real pain
The worst part of the whole ordeal was watching ancient television (Mayberry RFD) while the machine did its thing. Boy, were we innocent back then! Aunt B gets really silly when she has had too much elixir! And Opie, wonder if he had any idea how bald he would become in later years! Sigh! It could have been worse. They might just have had eight year old copies of People Magazine like most places I have visited during my adventures in health care!
Go do it!
If you are healthy, you really should help out your fellow human in need. Giving blood is not that big a deal for the giver, and it can mean life for the receiver. If it is you in need, and the supply is low, you will be upset that no one donated. Remember that that no one might have been you, the scaredy-cat afraid of needles!
The only side effect of giving all that blood was getting really sleepy. When I got home. I took a four hour nap afterward, and had to lay off running for a few days. My blood will be there in the operating room where I hope I do not need it, but it is available there just in case!
The next week
The only thing left on my schedule for this last week is getting paperwork in order, and seeing both doctors who will be working on me one last time before the big event. I am also transitioning my classes to substitute instructors and trying to get as much grading done as I can. My students are worried that my arrangements with Santa Claus will not work with the new folks who take over.
Mentally, I am getting to the point where I want this to happen. For better or worse, I will live with the results. My support system expands every day as well. I have really good doctors, who will do the best they can. I am confident that God will guide them, and all will work out.
I have literally hundreds of folks praying for me, and that makes a world of difference! I am surprised by the number of folks who are actually reading this blog of mine as well. I hope it helps them as much as it helps me.
My wife is always there as I go through this Without her, this would be too much to handle. She keeps things on track and has been with me everywhere. She got to watch the vampire machine, and called it "Fascinating" in her best Dr. Spock imitation!
This is as hard on her as it is on me, and I am grateful for the support she is getting through all this as well.
My students have been coming up to me with best wishes, folks I work with at school keep telling me they are thinking about me. It is all pretty amazing. If you have ever felt alone in this world, you are probably just not paying attention to all those who really do do care that you make it.
It is really comforting.
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