"O" the Agony of Humiliation

Well, I finally did it. I went to give blood today and, if you've read the previous post about my giving blood, you know that I don't handle it well at all. However, if I eat right before I leave to go give, I usually make out okay with just a little dizziness. So off I go this morning, postcard in hand. Well, the first problem was that there was a misprint on the postcard. But I eventually found the right place (across the street basically from the printed one) and got in line. The news station here is having a big drive so they had the location in Summerville and another one in Mt. Pleasant. With all the advertising, they were getting a pretty good turnout. So it was fairly busy. I did manage to get in about a half hour after I got there though. But I was sitting there calculating how well my breakfast was going to hold up. I usually need to have eaten about a half hour before to do well. Unfortunately, with 15 min. travel time and another 20 - 30 or so waiting in addition to the time lost finding the right place, I was beyond my 'do well' time. However, I hadn't gotten hungry yet and since I'd eaten a granola bar on the way -- just to be sure -- I felt like I was good to go.

I made sure, as I usually do, to tell the lady who was drawing the blood that I usually get a little dizzy. She wanted to take precautions against that so she laid the chair back and got me a nice cold Sprite. Didn't I tell you before that the Red Cross is fabulous? Then here we went. Not one twinge did I have the entire time. No heat, no black spots, no nausea. I couldn't believe it when she said I had filled the bag already. I was doing cartwheels in my head. Yayyy! I did it! She disconnected me and gave me my little post-donation sheet. Then she put the chair back up and asked me to sit there a minute to make sure I didn't get dizzy. Nothing. I was about to swing my legs around and get up when... BOOM! It hit me -- the heat, black spots, all of it. Wham! I looked up at the lady, managed to get out "Oh boy. Here it comes." The next thing I knew I was on my back again in the chair and some woman was leaning over me asking me if I knew my name. You got it. I fainted. I guess I'm a southern girl after all.

They swarmed around me putting cold compresses on my forehead and the back of my neck. Someone turned a fan on me. Which is why I couldn't figure out the reason they had covered me with a paper blanket thing. I also couldn't figure out why my hiney was so cold. And, I suddenly realized, wet. Remember the Sprite. Uh huh. I passed out and in the process dumped a mostly full can of Sprite all over my own lap. As a result, I wore home a paper lab coat they gave me.

Probably the worst part was when they decided I would live but I needed to lay there a bit. They all went back to their stations and I could see around me. There were about a dozen pairs of eyes trained on me, watching the show. They always put the donor chairs in a big rectangle facing each other so the techs can move back and forth as needed. Of course, I wasn't terribly entertaining anymore so it didn't last long but it was all very embarrassing. When I made it to the 'recovery' table to have a cookie, one of the volunteers saw me there and asked if I was working too. The three others at the table kind of chuckled because we had been talking about it. So I had to explain in a teeny, self-depracating voice.

One thing I did learn is that Sprite, blood drives, and I do not get along well. If you remember, last time I dumped it on my neck and shirt. This time I went for lower regions. I think next time I'll ask if they have one in one of those toddler no-spill cups. Otherwise, I'll decline. I guess as long as they're willing to put up with me, I'll keep going. Keith says they probably don't mind since I'm an 'O.' I guess if nothing else I got this stylish lab coat.