henever I read the thought “we can do hard things,” (thanks Momastery!) I’m like, “YEAH I can do hard things! Throw me your best shot, life, I’ve totally got this!” Then I get in the middle of the hard thing and I’m like, “I WAS JUST KIDDING! I can’t do hard things! Make it stop!”
That was basically me, last week, as I was giving blood for the first time – or plasma, to be more exact.
I can’t believe I’ve never given blood before…it’s always been one of those things that I knew I SHOULD do and I kind of felt like a bad citizen for NOT doing it. But last Sunday was the day the record changed. After church, I took a spin in the blood mobile. And after they ran some of the initial tests on me, they actually begged me to donate plasma – so my first time turned into a rather big deal.
My buttons were bursting as the technician told me about my high iron levels…she told me that most people definitely do NOT donate plasma on their first go-around. My ego levels were soaring!
I was doing SO well for the first 10 minutes or so, taking selfies, sending snapchats, documenting the whole experience, getting totally laughed at by this other blood donor who was watching my shenanigans.
Confession: I took more than one selfie.
Then the room started to get really fuzzy…and my ears started to ring…and I had to keep squeezing that little ball that was rock hard and started to realize that my left hand has ZERO strength…and I was like, “Wait! Remember that giant questionnaire you had me fill out? I forgot to tell you on there that I can’t do hard things! I think I’m going to pass out! How am I ever going to have children if donating plasma for 90 minutes feels this hard?!?”
The lovely technician said, “Stay with me! I don’t want you to pass out – you’re at 150. I just need you to get to 430.” WHAT?!?!?!!? She had the best of intentions but let’s just set the record straight with this note to technicians everywhere: this was a horrible motivational technique. I had NO idea what those numbers meant but now I DID know that I was barely 1/3 of the way through. I was ready to die.
Then the nice lady put some cold compresses on my head and gave me a Pepsi along with a pep talk…and the spinning gradually started to go away. It took a little while but I DID IT. My technician was so proud of me and made me the cutest little bow out of tape to bandage my arm at the end. And I left that blood mobile feeling brave that I had done the hard thing and thrilled with my new arm accessory.
SO. It’s Monday and there may be some hard things you face this week. It’s totally acceptable if your brain starts screaming in the middle about how INCONVENIENTLY HARD hard things are. But it really is true…we can do hard things! I promise you! The great thing is that pain never lasts forever. Hard things ebb and flow. The dizziness and disorientation eventually gives way to peace.
You’ve got this, friend! WE’VE got this. Hang in there.
Dear Grace, I howled with your tale of blood plasma donation, especially the nurse’s comment about getting to 430. So glad you survived the experience! Enjoying your storytelling with the amazing artwork and photos is a bit like having a delicious surprise treat. Thanks for your commitment… and artistry… and sensitivity… and humor… and motivation.
Thank you, Father Jack! It’s been a treat to have a space to do storytelling in this way so I’m so thrilled and encouraged that it resonates with you! Thank you for taking the time to let me know. :) You’re the best!
Wow! First, can I inquire about your diet!? I’m always almost under or under the limit of iron levels to donate blood. I’ve only been able to donate once because of this, despite a few attempts! I try and stock up on spinach and raisins beforehand, but haven’t had much success.
Second, which should really be first, good job! It’s a wonderful thing to do, even if it is a bit dizzying at times. I think the one time I did give blood, I was feeling so great, I tried to walk up nine flights of stairs right afterwards! Inadvisable. But the feeling of helping others is really uplifting. :)
Love the bandage tape bow and Minnetonka moccasins! Also enjoying your thumbs-up-ing blooddrop people.
I was actually trying to rack my brain to figure out how my iron levels were so high! For the couple days leading up to this plasma donation, I had made a delicious sweet potato/black bean burrito recipe…I think that both sweet potatoes and black beans are good sources of iron…and we also tend to have spinach or leafy green salads every night with our meals. So I think all of those things may have contributed!
Ha, I can definitely see how walking up nine flights of stairs may not be the best activity following a blood donation – though I understand how you can feel pretty good and ready to conquer anything afterwards! (I was feeling like that by the end but restrained myself from swimming laps.)