Blood, Sweat, and Frankie

A couple years ago, I wrote a post about my internal struggle to get up the courage to donate blood.  For those who haven’t read it, let me summarize it for you:

Donating blood makes me nervous.

Like, really nervous.  Sweat pouring out of me nervous.  On the precipice of a panic attack nervous.  It’s not the needle, it’s the combo of my impossible-to-hit veins with the awesome reaction of my body to the loss of blood (hint: it’s not pretty).  Quick update for those of you who did read the post – I have had another failed attempt since my previous success story.  I’m, um, not going to dwell on that…

But I am going to try again.  Mostly because I’m stubborn and I want to.  If you know me, this comes as no surprise and you can probably stop reading, but for those who don’t please allow me to explain myself.  

Fighter Frankie!

I want to donate because of Frankie, the son of a dental school classmate of mine.  Frankie has been a fighter since birth, as he was born with cancer.  But it’s not just Frankie that drives my desire to donate.  Yes, he is the catalyst and I am honored to be able (to try) to donate at his 1^st Birthday; but he’s not the entire reason.

I want to donate because it easily could have been the person at dental lab bench #76 (me) instead of the person at bench #18 (Frankie’s mama) wondering why this was happening to her precious boy.  

I want to donate because no mom should ever have to see her little one need blood.  But since some do, I want blood to be there for them.   

I want to donate because ALL moms need support, especially those whose hearts are hurting for their little ones.  Sadly, we have lost this sense of community in our judgement-filled “mommy wars” culture and we desperately need to get it back.  

I want to donate because I am blessed to have healthy children, which in no way means I can turn a blind eye to those whose children are not as healthy.  In fact, in means that doing something like donating blood is just a small blip on the radar of life – even when you’re so nervous about it you kinda want to yak.  

I want to donate because you don't get a lot of chances to make a life-changing impact for another person, so I want to take those opportunities when I can.  Plus a blood donation can impact up to three people, so that's a pretty good return on your investment if you ask me! 

I want to donate because as a Christian, I am called to look not only to my own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Mathematically this looks like: Others’ Interests (saving lives) > My Interests (not passing out in public) 

I want to donate because only 3% of eligible donors actually donate.  And I want to be part of the 3%.

Lastly, I want to donate because I want my boys to see that some things are worth doing, even if they are not easy.  Maybe especially when they are not easy.  

And so, I have signed up to donate at Frankie’s 1^st Birthday Party…and I want to encourage you to join me.  If you are apprehensive, think of your own reasons why this is important to YOU and then sign up!   I will be there to cheer you on!  And you’ll definitely recognize me - I’ll be the one with sweaty palms, lying supine on the table looking super cool while trying not to pass out…

PS: If you absolutely can't donate or are not eligible to donate, please consider volunteering in another capacity to help Frankie's 1st Birthday be a huge success in raising money for children with cancer!  There are lots of opportunities, click here to find one that's up your alley!