I finally go in for blood typing today so I can get my transfusion on Thursday. It\u2019s been a crazy ride getting to this point, as those of you who follow the blog have read (if you don\u2019t know, read the last two posts before this one and it\u2019ll catch you up some). It seems so strange to me the restrictions and regulations this hospital has and how they treat patients. I realize that they can\u2019t go handing blood out to just anybody, but when a person clearly has all the requirements for it, and the symptoms and blah blah blah. What a strange experience.<\/p>\n
But more than that, I find myself a little hesitant about the transfusion. Most of the things we put in our bodies come from animals or plants\u2013we don\u2019t think a thing about it, you know? I take a thyroid medication that is a natural dessicated thyroid. Mine comes from pigs. Some of the thyroid supplements come from cows. We eat pork and we eat hamburgers and steaks, so really, medicine from animals doesn\u2019t do a lot to \u2018bother\u2019 me. I\u2019d much rather a healthy animal who is going to be killed for food, that he or she be used in full and there not be waste. Like the Native Americans who honor the animal who gave his life for nourishment, and then they use every part of the animal in some way. I like that concept, if animals have to die for our needs. It makes it more\u2026 palatable, I guess. Morally, there\u2019s a part of me that wishes I were able to be a strict vegan vegetarian. Alas, I cannot. It\u2019s not who I am.<\/span><\/p>\n But when I think about blood, coming from another human being and going into my body. It seems so strange to me. Almost creepy in a way. I realize the blood is tested and that it\u2019s almost guaranteed to be safe now\u2013but there was a time when HIV\/AIDS was transmitted via blood transfusions because they didn\u2019t know what it was to test for it. People died of AIDS who had no significant risk factors for it, simply because they needed blood at some point. A disease such as that could be on our radar at some point. The thought of that is a little scary.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the thought of the person who donated. There\u2019s this sense of obligation almost. I think about these things. When the person who donated that blood went to the donation center, they sat down and gave their blood to be given to someone else, they were thinking it was going to save a life. They probably didn\u2019t give too much thought to it, but somewhere inside them, they were thinking they were saving a life\u2013I know, because years ago I donated blood when I was healthy and able to do it and I know what I thought. My daughter has donated blood. My friends have donated blood. And all the time, they were thinking that blood was going to save someone\u2019s life.<\/p>\n But this blood that I\u2019m getting isn\u2019t really saving my life. I won\u2019t die if I don\u2019t get this transfusion, at least, probably not. But it is going to make me feel a lot better, and more than that, it should jump-start my body to get it to start making red blood cells properly again. The ones mine are making right now are too pale and immature to carry oxygen as well as they should. So not only do I have respiratory failure due to my lungs not perfusing oxygen well, but I also have a hemoglobin oxygen carrying issue, in that my hemoglobin is super low and my iron is super low, and so the red blood cells my body is making to try to repair that are all pale and immature. They don\u2019t carry oxygen as well, and there\u2019s just not enough of them. Adding blood to my system should add mature red cells and give my body some time to slow down on the production of hemoglobin and make it right. It\u2019ll add some iron to my system too, and all the way around, it should help me get back to a more normal state for me.<\/p>\n In my life, the difference this could make is huge. It lets me get out of bed, and not feel so washed out and completely exhausted. I\u2019ll be able to interact with my family again. I\u2019ll be able to leave the house again (I have even cancelled some doctor\u2019s appointments recently because I was too tired\/exhausted and felt too bad to go to the doctor\u2013you know it\u2019s bad when you\u2019re too sick for a doctor\u2019s visit!) It will make a significant change in my life. In the really long run, it might actually be saving my life.<\/p>\n But in the short term, emergency situation, it\u2019s not a life-saving transfusion.<\/p>\n So I wonder about the person who was kind enough and concerned enough and brave enough to donate their own blood to save someone\u2019s life, and I wonder if they knew I was the person getting the blood and the reasons why, would they feel that their donation was worth it? Would they feel they had fulfilled what they wanted when they donated? Would they be proud to say they donated to a person like me and that they improved the quality of my life and my family\u2019s life because of their generous donation?<\/p>\n Am I worth that, to them? Would I be, if they knew me?<\/p>\n So I feel a sense of obligation in a way to be the type of person who is worthy of someone donating their literal life blood to make me feel better and to keep me healthier.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s sort of a strange feeling.<\/p>\n On another note, it\u2019s also sort of a creepy feeling. Blood is so symbolic in our society. Family is blood. Blood is thicker than water. Blood bonds. Blood ties. Blood is our life blood. Blood is our energy. It\u2019s the source of our life. Without it, we die. When we lose too much of it, we die. It is the energy of a person, and it\u2019s going to be given to me from another person. And I wonder, will I feel that? Will I psychologically fool myself into thinking I do? Will it matter? Will it be just like any other IV I\u2019ve ever gotten? It\u2019s a strange thought, getting someone else\u2019s blood like that. I realize it probably won\u2019t feel any weirder than any normal IV once it\u2019s done, but prior to doing it, it\u2019s a strange thought. I mean, it\u2019s different when it\u2019s blood from someone you know, a family member or a husband or wife or mother or father. But to get blood from a complete stranger\u2026 you don\u2019t know who they are. They don\u2019t know who you are. And yet, somehow, on a basic energetic level, you will be intimately connected to this other person.<\/p>\n We\u2019re all connected at some level, but this pushes that boundary even closer. To share someone\u2019s blood\u2026 yeah, sort of a creepy feeling.<\/p>\n Anyway, I\u2019d better hop into the shower. I\u2019m so tired, just raising my hands above my head to put my hair in a clip this morning felt like such a chore. The shower is going to take a lot out of me, but I really need to take a shower before I go get typed. I\u2019ll try to get some pics for you guys of the infusion center. They are supposed to have really nice leather chairs there, I\u2019ve been told.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll keep you all posted. Thank you so much for your comments and loves and prayers and hugs and support. It all means so much more than you can possibly know.<\/p>\n Love and stuff,<\/p>\n Michy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I finally go in for blood typing today so I can get my transfusion on Thursday. It\u2019s been a crazy ride getting to this point, as those of you who follow the blog have read (if you don\u2019t know, read the last two posts before this one and it\u2019ll catch you up some). It seems […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n