"You don't pay love back, you pay it forward" - Lily Hardy Hammond
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| Getting a blood transfusion |
During my first time around in the hospital I had to receive a fair bit of blood products in order to be kept alive. My experience through the treatments brought a new found respect to the love that people pay forward every time they go out and give blood. Before I got this illness I was so naive to just how important blood products are to our medical system.
Every time a transfusion bag of either red blood cells or platelets were hung on my IV, a complete feeling of gratitude came over my body. This gratitude came from the fact that a stranger would take the time out of their busy day to do something so simple, yet so powerful and life saving. I wondered if they truly knew how much a gift they were giving, and how powerful of an impact it was having on someone else's life.
In addition to gratitude, it also made me guilty to my own ignorance truly needed it was, and how such a simple deed can be truly life saving. One of my biggest regrets was that I didn't donate any blood in the years before I was sick, and now I was being a drain on the system that I didn't contribute to. I knew I needed to do something to pay forward the good deeds I had received. It was at about 6:00am on Monday March 8th that I came up with the idea that would act as my main purpose for 2010. Although I could no longer personally give my own blood, to pay it forward I could inspire others to act, and so I created the blood drive challenge. My main goal of this challenge was to drive awareness in those around me about how important blood is to the medical system, especially in the treatment of blood cancers. The tertiary benefit was that it would pay the blood banks back for the blood I had used.
What happened in the blood challenge I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams. A small group of 20 people embraced this challenge with the passion that would make Aphrodite jealous. Not only did they embrace the challenge personally, but they also inspired many others to give as well. They were the true ambassadors of this challenge!
The final results absolutely blew my mind. I think everyone that embraced this challenge deserves a huge thank you from me personally and any other person that has received your blood. You are saving lives in the purest form.
For only trying to repay the blood bank for resources I used this result is simply an amazing result!!
So what does 80 donations actually mean? Well it means that as a group these donors have saved 240 lives! Let me say that again, 240 lives have been saved as a direct result of your generosity. If that doesn't deserve a congratulations I don't know what does.
Everyone of you that gave blood is simply amazing, but this was developed as a contest to see who could give the most blood over the whole year and so I have the final results.
THE RESULTS ARE IN.........
We ended up having a tie for first place between Jason Martin and Trevor Offord. They both managed to donate the maximum amount of times possible for one year. Unfortunately I can't take them out to dinner due to my new restrictions from the transplant, but I will be slaving in the kitchen for each of them to show my thanks.
Thanks to everyone that donated and even though the contest is over please keep donating!!! You are saving lives. Just think without donations like yours, the picture at the top of this post wouldn't have been possible, and therefore this post wouldn't have been possible. Like thousands of others, I am still alive because of your generosity. So thank you!
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