On Sunday I gave blood for the first time. I know, I know, that is ridiculous! I should have been giving blood well before this weekend. But I have small, rolling veins, and low blood pressure, and this caused issues with IV's both times I was in labor with my children.
Anyway, I've wanted to give for a long time, but things in Memphis are always so hectic, and when we're here at home I've always got the girls with me, so donating then is out. But Sunday I was all alone, and had the time, so I stepped up to the challenge in the LifeSouth bus at WalMart.
It hurt! They had trouble finding a vein (remember the small, rolling veins?), and they had to tie the tourniquet REALLY tight. It took many, many minutes to fill up a bag of blood. My entire arm hurt for the rest of the day.
And as I lay in bed that night thinking about it, it hit me. SHAME ON ME! How dare I complain about being stuck with a needle one time? How dare I complain about a tender arm after the needle stick? How dare I complain about this very minor discomfort?
My 5 year old gets stuck every single week. She rarely complains. She lets people stick things all over her, poke her, pull on her. And she does it every single week! Shame on me.
And then my guilt went further. How dare I complain about a headache? An inconvenience. An annoying person? These things are minor, really.
How fast I forget what really is important in life. How fast I stop being thankful for all of the GOOD things, and focus on the minor bad things.
So I am through complaining about the tiny discomfort of giving blood. It will help someone out; maybe even Emma! And do you know what? I plan to do it again :) I hope that you will join me!
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