I gave blood for the first time yesterday. It took me 11 minutes to fill the bags. Laura was done before me, but she started before me too. She says it took her 17 minutes. Jake arrived there after us and managed to get all his paper work done and finish giving blood before me. Five minutes flat. Stupid boys and their stupid big veins!
Anyway, the nurse made it a “race,” so that’s how I know our times. It was a nice distraction from thinking about the needle. Actually though, the whole process was painless. The only thing that hurts is my bruised middle finger where they checked my iron.
Since it was my first time, everyone was really watching me. I felt like they were hovering really. I guess you could just suddenly take a turn for the worst, but I felt great. All I needed was some orange juice, cookies, and pretzels. And of course the bright yellow sticker with the daisy saying, “I’m a first time donor.”
While we were there, the nurse who made it a race told Laura, “Don’t do it,” when she told her she was getting married next month. I couldn’t believe it. Turns out that she was married, but is now divorced. But she seemed like a happy person otherwise, so I didn’t feel bad. However, since yesterday was our third wedding anniversary, I have to give Laura the opposite advice. Do it! Love it and love each other.
