As I Live and Learn
 

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Monthly Blood Party: December

Apheresis Donor December (2007) Pin Blood Party Date: December 28th

My Appointment: 08:45 am

Other Participants:
None



This month's incentive:
I'll get to go to work late as it's on a Friday!

Recap:
Yup, that's right, I donated on a Friday. Due to the holidays, I had no time on the weekends that matched available donation times. I didn't know the center (in Livonia) was open on weekdays! Normally that wouldn't matter, but an early Friday appointment between Christmas and New Year's was pretty good.

Happy to be back in Livonia donating. Things went well. I had been concerned they might not let me donate since I had been SUPER sick with a cold the week before and through Christmas and had just gotten over most of it a couple days before the donation but still had a stuffy nose. The nurse said so long as I didn't have an active infection - fever, running nose, or cough - I was okay to donate (apheresis). 2 Platelets again, as it's been since having to switch to Platelets only. Only, just like last time, my arm really hurt by the end of the donation. It was the second time in a row, so it made me think the last time wasn't just a weird side effect. In fact, I figured out at the end of the donation that the new pain was due to the blood pressure cuff they kept on all during the donation. I didn't realize until the moment the nurse deflated the cuff that it had been slightly inflated (at about 20) the whole time! And then I recalled they had done the same thing at my last donation in Riverview. So it wasn't some weird thing done in Riverview, but apparently a new practice at all the aphresis donation sites.

It wasn't a big problem, but they didn't have my pin. :( *pout* It was so late in the month they had run out! But my nurse promised to have one for me by the next time I came in to donate. As a side note, my nurse was not one I've seen in Livonia before. I wonder if it's because there's a different staff on weekdays than weekends. Except I recognized most of the other nurses. *shrugs*

I went and got my Big Boy yumminess, then home to work from home during the day. This time, as with last time, I didn't get "hit" (affected) by donating hard like has been usual. Though last time, it was the next morning while working in the ER for my EMT class that the donation affected my negatively. Oddly enough. I had to go sit down and take several deep measured breaths, was feeling a bit nauseous too. But it passed after I drank the water the cute, nice other student working with me brought me.

So I don't have my December pin yet. *pout* But I earned it, and that's really the point.

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