Blood Drive

There was a Blood Drive at school today. It is kind of interesting how this works. Anyone that wanted to donate blood signed up for a period they wanted to go in. Andrea and I signed up for 4th period because I had study hall and she had gym.

So we go down to the South Gym and walk up to the registration table. They give us a questionnaire to fill out...it was very amusing...
Females: In the past twelve months have you had sexual contact with a male that has had sexual contact with another male? Yes or No.
Males: Check "I am Male"

Have you EVER been born in Mexico, or South America? (Andrea- "yeah once or twice")

After you fill out the questionnaire they give u a physical to check your iron levels and a few other things.

Andrea and I both passed the physical! YAY!!

Then they call you in again to sign the questionnaire and then you are told to find an empty stretcher and lay on it. Then a nurse would come and take blood.

Aparently third and fourth period were very popular times to go because all the stretchers were full. Andrea and I sat down and drank apple juice as we waited for a stretcher to open.

We had arrived at the gym at 10:05. I got on a stretcher at around 11:20...I think they actually attempted to put in the needle at around 11:40ish. I was kinda nervous. I've had blood taken for tests many times, and i've had IV's in so I'm used to needles going in me...which means that I know exactly how difficult it is to find a vein to use, and I know that I hate needles.

So the nurse put a thing around my arm very very tightly so that the vein would become bigger I guess. She also had my squeeze my hand as hard as I could. She kept tapping my vein...which is pretty invisible. She said she found a really good one...but she wasn't sure she would be comfortable using it because she could feel it in one place but then it completely disappeared like a centimeter higher and she couldn't locate it anymore. She tried my left arm and immediately decided that my right arm was much better. She had another nurse come over before they finally put the needle in me.

When they first put it in no blood came out, the nurse told me she would just have to adjust it, so she moved it around inside of me and then the blood came. I was in lots of pain...they say it doesn't really hurt. Some people were not hurt at all...I hurt. my arm was constantly twitching as were a few other parts of my body and I was very cold. When they finally took the needle out I held my hands together, my right arm was an ashen color. I went and sat down, drinking cranberry juice and eating a cookie. (It was 6th period at this point). Andrea came over a few minutes later and she had an ice pack on her arm. She bruises easily and she was bruised when they took the needle out so they gave her specific instructions with the ice pack. She wasn't in pain at all but she was very dizzy. She took the ice pack off after 15 minutes. She said that her arm was cold and I was like me too! Which was odd because I didn't have an ice pack. After about 45 minutes my hand returned to a normal color, it is still cold now though.

7th period ended, I was still in pain and Andrea was still dizzy, but we had been there since 4th period so I kinda felt like we should go back. So we walked up the stairs for the gym and half way up Andrea and I both stopped, we were clutching the stair rails. I was suddenly dizzy and nauseous and Andrea was more dizzy than before. We got outside and both collapsed on the ground (intentionally, I mean we didn't pass out).

A teacher came by and told us that we either needed to go back down to the blood drive or we needed to go to class. It was 8th period at this point...Andrea would have had to go down stairs to Band and I would have had to go up a hill to government...or we both could go downstairs to the place we had just been. We decided that if we went to chorus we could just sit and wait for 9th period instead of going back to the blood drive and that way we wouldnt have to go up any more steps or hills.

We didn't stand up in chorus as we sang, that would have been too much effort. My arm ached and I was dizzy. I had eaten...but who knows, maybe not enough? After class Andrea and I stayed back to talk to Mr. K (our chorus teacher). He is my favorite teacher by far. He talked to us to find out how we were feeling, Andrea told him about our day. Mr. K looked at me and said "Laurel are you okay, you seem a bit out of it"... and I looked at him and was thought a moment and said in a rather distant voice "yeah...yeah i am...a bit out of it" He asked if we had eaten and we said yes, he suggested that we eat more soon.

When I got home I crashed on the couch, needing very much to sleep, my energy was depleted. The phone rang...Stephanie answered, it was some random college I'd never heard of, I told them that I had not requested information and so that ended the conversation. Then Andrea called to ask how the rest of our after school Vernissage meeting had gone. I told her and we talked for a few more moments...soon after we hung up my dad called and we talked for a few moments. By this point I was really wishing people would just let me sleep. No one else called and I slept for a little over an hour. I'm still exhausted. I need sleep but I can't I have homework.

This is the life of a busy High School Senior.


Loving Everyone Always Forever