However with my new 'if I do good things then good things will happen to me' kick then I felt that giving blood should be the very first step. I tried to talk myself out of it. There was a tiny voice in my head which was saying 'well you know that blood is only going to be drunken by vampires anyway.' Yes the small bit of my brain which was saying 'no' was also the irrational part of my brain. I do think it reflects my terrible ability to view both sides of the argument. That was always my debating shortcoming. Instead of thinking about the potential inability to exercise or the chance of contracting HIV I went for 'I don't want to give blood to vampires'. Maybe I've just been watching too much TV... well I always watch way too much TV... but maybe this time I've been pushed over the brink. So since that was the only reason against giving blood I marched myself into the MUSA offices with my arm exposed.
The reason I was so determined to do it was because I was scared. For some reason I thought that the donation would hurt intensely. But as soon as I recognised that fear I knew I had to overcome it. A small part of me also told me that 'this will give you a new thing to blog about today'. So I marched into the MUSA offices in an attempt to get myself a good blog post for tonight.
The nurse was wonderfully chatty although I don't think she quite understood that I needed a little bit of encouragement since she told me that 'you don't have to do this'. I had the same feeling as when I was standing on top of a 3m high rock at OPC and about to jump off of it into the river below. I told myself that I was going to do it but just before I jumped there was that small moment of hesitation. In many ways I just needed a little positive push. I jumped off that rock in the same way that I donated blood.
If you haven't done it then I simply must describe the weird feeling of watching your blood run away. I almost felt cheated. I mean I'd spent a lot of time and effort making that blood and then in 5 minutes half a litre of it was gone. The nurse really didn't understand since when she took the small bag containing my blood away and I said 'bub-bye blood' she asked me repetitively 'are you okay?' Perhaps she thought I was feeling rather light in the head.
The whole process was rather fascinating. At the moment I'm staring at my arm and wondering where did all of the blood come from. My arm isn't any smaller and neither is my waistline yet somehow 500 grams of liquid is no longer being pumped through my veins. It really shows you how amazing the human body is. I mean everything is packed together so tightly and so incredibly well organised that as soon as one little thing is out of place then it's immediately noticed. I reckon that if I was going to be an academic then I'd definitely lecture in human anatomy. It's so interesting to discover how everything works together (plus in exams it's always handy to have a life size model).
So that was my experience giving blood. The nurse didn't take multiple stabs at my arm, I didn't wince in agony through the whole experience or collapse immediately afterwards. She did make a good point 'if giving blood was so unpleasant then there's no way that anyone would do it again'. It was almost pleasant. I mean I got a free pen, two pinky bars and a cameo creme so that's pretty awesome. I think I'll do it again... not just to get the soft toy but because it kind of makes me feel awesome (not physically). I mean in 5 minutes I've managed to help three people. Without my blood then maybe someones daughter will die in surgery or someones mother may finally lose the battle to cancer.
It's kind of awesome isn't it!
3 Good things
*Pancakes
*Doing Stats by hand... No 'R' confusingness!
*Sitting down and reading the morning paper after riding Fox.
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