Last week LifeServe did a blood drive in our little town. Our pastor's wife has been involved in the local blood drives for years, and she got after our family to get involved, too!
So Jonathan did! I am too small and don't weigh enough. Crystal didn't want to lose a whole unit of blood before doing a big drive for an Amish family the next day, and Danny had a sore throat, which promptly disqualified him.
And Hannah was too young. So only Jonathan donated blood last week.
I did a write-up about it and sent it to the Mellette Newspaper, but I don't know if it will be printed. Here it is:
On a very hot Tuesday on July 30th, Life Serve once again came to
Sacred Heart Hall in White River, SD. Thanks to a former scheduler for
blood drives, a newcomer named Jonathan Lucas was convinced to donate
blood for the first time here. "I've actually donated blood once before
in my early 20's," he says. He and his sisters donated blood for a
particular person in need, and that grateful lady said she considered
herself part of their family after that!
Jonathan's
wife Anna was on the verge of needing a blood transfusion last year
during cancer treatment, reminding Jonathan of the need for blood
donations. Forty-six years ago, Anna's mother nearly died of a
hemorrhage after giving birth to Anna's younger sister in Custer
Hospital. An ambulance had screamed off to Rapid City and returned in
record time with the right type of blood or Anna's father would probably
have been left alone with eight children to care for. Thanks to blood
donors, Anna still has her mother, 84 years old.
"Why
is that bag of blood sitting on that 'rocking chair'?" Anna asked
curiously. She was watching her husband's dark red blood flowing through
the narrow tubing into the 1-unit bag sitting not on a rocking chair
but on a flat metal plate that was seesawing up and down.
"To
keep the blood from clotting," the nurse explained, deftly clamping the
tubing shut and slipping the needle out of Jonathan's arm. "Hold this
gauze tight for a moment," she said, getting ready to wrap his arm and
the gauze with criss-crossed blue tape.
"You
must sit down for fifteen minutes," insists Mathel Ambrose, former
scheduler for blood donations, leading the way to the snack table where
granola bars, various chips or popcorn, and drinks of cold water, apple
juice, or orange juice awaited each donor. There Jonathan munched
popcorn and sipped orange juice, joined shortly by another donor.
"How many times have you donated blood?" Anna inquired of the man.
"I
don't count," the donor shook his head, and Mathel added, "I don't
count either. I don't have to count stars in my crown." Donating blood,
in their opinion, is not something to brag about, but a way for willing
people to simply serve their community--donating their own life's blood
for people whose lives literally depend on it.
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