Bloody hell!

So today we had a Blood Drive at work. Whenever there's an opportunity to donate blood, I jump at it -- and I wholeheartedly suggest you do the same (despite the forthcoming story). Today's experience was quite an...er....experience, though....

Things started off innocently enough when I first entered the bloodmobile (a tad bit of a morbid name, no?) as I dealt with the two women who handled the preparations (forms, questions, blood pressure, etc) However, the gentleman who actually administered the blood seemed noticeably stressed -- and his bedside manner could use some improving. First, he applied the blood pressure strap entirely too tight. No exaggeration, but my hand turned sheet white, and I literally did not have the strength to squeeze the stress ball they use to enlarge your veins.

One of my co-workers, who was lying on the bed next to me, noticed this and asked if they could loosen it a bit (like an asshole, I just laid there hoping it would feel better soon). Thank the Lord, he loosened it and the feeling gloriously returned to my extremity. That same co-worker then noted how quickly my bag was filling up (I joked, "hey, I've got a lot to do today").

Anyway, when the bag was full and the needle was removed, my arm starts to absolutely gush blood. The woman started freaking out, yelling that she needs more gauze. The gentleman in charge (who couldn't see us) nonchalantly hands her a single piece. She yells, "No! I need more!" as my entire lower arm is covered with blood, as well as the arm of the bed and much of the floor. Like a jerk I ask, "Am I the first one to make a scene?" Hey, I wanted to lighten the mood! Finally the gentleman sees how much blood is flowing and gives her a whole bandage to fix it up.

Thankfully, nobody in the bloodmobile at that time was squeamish (myself included), so nobody passed out or threw up or made a scene. And throughout the entire process, I felt completely fine and was never concerned about my well being. We were even joking that I donated an extra pint. And like I told the receptionist at work, I'm willing to sacrifice a little bit of unpleasantness if it provides me with a good story to tell.

And all joking aside, blood donation is a wonderful and relatively easy way to make a difference.