Priest's Confessions 03/07/08 | Columnists | Summerville Journal Scene

Printer friendly version |

E-mail to a friend

Priest's Confessions 03/07/08

Published Thursday, March 06, 2008 1:48 PM

By Ellen Priest
Summerville Journal Scene ®

I am a terrible patient. I have no tolerance for being sick because in my world, I simply do not have time for such nonsense.

This approach has not always served me well. It has caused me to hemorrhage after a biopsy, sending me to the emergency room for stitches. It has caused me to muddle through a case of mononucleosis at the ripe age of 35 – way past the age of contracting such a thing – without missing a day of work, when others would be out with a headache or a sore throat. It has also caused me to hemorrhage again after a major operation, spilling two pints of my precious blood supply before the doctor plopped my stubborn self in a hospital bed for three days.

I also feel that if a little bit of pain on my part can save another’s life, it is well worth the pain. I am not an ideal blood donor. I have to eat the equivalent of three hearty meals to pass the minimum weight requirements to give blood. More than that, I tend to do things that the blood mobile nurses frown on in their donors, such as passing out after giving.

This reaction has made my husband frown on my propensity for giving blood. But it doesn’t stop me from giving. In fact, I sneak around to give blood. I try to go to the blood center when he will be occupied for a few hours and not know I’ve gone. And I was pretty darn pleased with myself when I received my gallon pin a while back, which I also had to hide from him.

I signed up for the national bone marrow donation program years ago and I’m afraid that although I’ve not received that call yet, when I do, I’ll have to pretend to be out of the country for a business trip to get away from letting him know what I’m doing.

I’m not a martyr. I don’t like needles or pain anymore than the next guy but what better gift can one give to another than the gift of life?

I had two close relatives diagnosed with leukemia last year. My mom was in an accident years ago that required her to receive four pints of blood.

Without the selfless donors that gave their time and donated their blood, they would not have survived.

So I’ll keep trekking to make blood donations when I can sneak away from my husband. The local Red Cross is always in need of healthy (or in my case, pathetic but well-meaning) donors. Visit the local American Red Cross at www.lowcountryredcross.org to learn more or log into www.givelife.org to locate a blood drive in our area. If you are able, spend an hour of your time to fulfill this need. The recipients will never know your name or see your face but believe me, they will be grateful every day that you gave.

Comments

Notice about comments:

Journalscene.com ® is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Journalscene.com ® does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not Journalscene.com ®. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website.

Users can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends' recent posts, add an avatar that fits their personality, and more. If you have posted here before you'll need to sign up again, or if you've never posted before, start now by reading our terms and conditions, and then signing up below!

Full terms and conditions can be read here.

Poll Question

For entertainment, I mainly go out in...

104 East Doty Avenue | Summerville, SC 29483 | 843-873-9424 office | 843-873-9432 fax