Here's something you may not hear very often: I had the BEST blood donation last Friday! I really did. Thanks to Brooke and Robin's suggestion, I went to CHOC instead of our usual donation place, and I can't believe how much better of an experience it was (I had to donate before getting my vaccines done today, since you can't donate once you get them). For one: they have you hold a bag of hot water before they prick your finger, which makes it easier to test your iron level (especially for people like me who have freezing cold hands and who usually take quite a while for them to get enough of a sample). Second: they actually give you some sort of liquid anesthesia on your arm so you don't feel even the slightest prick! See, the whole process of donating doesn't bother me, the only thing I can't deal with is watching the needle go in, so at that point I have to look away. Which was great in this instance, because once I turned to look, there were definitely some spillage issues. But since I didn't feel anything: no harm, no foul! Plus, all the people that worked there were super nice and attentive. It's sad I found them just as I'm leaving to Haiti, which means I won't be able to donate for a year after I get back!
AND, they have PURPLE gauze!!
And today I got to go in for some more fun and get my vaccines started! There was one vaccine where I had the option of getting an injection or taking the pill form. "The only differences are that the injection is faster, and the oral way takes longer and may cause nausea and diarrhea." Uhhhhhh.....injection please. Then I started doing what I do when I get nervous about things like this: I start talking to the nurse so I can get my mind off of what is actually going on, plus it's nice to learn about other people. CHOC intake lady for example: we talked for a good five minutes about plants. Plus, it seemed like the nurse was still getting things together, so I thought I'd start chatting her up (heck, I talked about American Idol, Lost, Ellen, and more with the CHOC ladies!). So there I was, mid-sentence..."my friend and I..." I mean, I literally had gotten four or five words out. And then I felt the first one...and the second...then I laughed a little at how much the second one hurt. And before I could realize this wasn't someone I could chat with: "Turn around." And there went the third one into my right shoulder. I definitely found all of this funny, because the second she left the office to get my paperwork I had to stop my self from laughing out loud, but preferring to laugh than to cry. My shoulders are definitely feeling sore. I can't wait to go back for the second set.
As for fundraising, the donations keep trickling in!! A couple things I wanted to clarify: all the donations, up to the point of my goal, are going to cover my personal expenses to get to Haiti: flight, shuttle, vaccinations. HODR wants to make sure donors know where their money is going, and that this specific quantity is not going directly to the organization, but to sponsor my trip out there. However, any amount of money raised above my expenses will be donated directly to HODR to their efforts to start rebuilding schools.
Thank you again to everyone for their support, and please help me reach and surpass my goal by sending links of my sponsorship request to friends and family. THANK YOU.
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