Good Intentions
Besides being talented, smart and ridiculously good looking, we at Tahoe Quarterly also pride ourselves on our big, generous hearts. Which is why Lis, Nicci and I walked over to the Incline Village fire station to donate blood today. I’m totally kidding—we went for the free donuts.
Anyway, it was a fine enough experience, at first. The nurses were all extremely professional (which I always imagine is hard when you have to ask every person about their drug sharing habits with prostitutes in third world countries). I do, however, prefer blood drives in Pennsylvania, where someone always dresses up as a blood droplet, looking like a giant red Hershey kiss.
It was Lis’s first donation, so Nicci and I waited until she had the needle in her arm to talk about donations-gone-wrong—veins that can’t be found, sadistic nurses, etc.
As the veteran blood donors, Nicci and I finished first, pumping it out quick and painlessly, then walking over to the snack stand to load up on carbs and fluids. Which is where I started feeling kind of funny. Suddenly I wasn’t in my chair anymore, but on the floor staring groggily at the ceiling while two men stuffed pillows under my head.
“So is she the first one to pass out today?” Nicci asked, and I was not proud to hear that I, indeed, was.
Regardless, drained and embarrassed, it felt nice to do a good deed. Luckily, the Tahoe Basin has plenty of other opportunities for those looking to volunteer. There’s the Bear League in Homewood, the Boys & Girls Club in South Lake Tahoe and Kings Beach, Project MANA in Incline Village, and numerous other foundations and community support networks surrounding The Lake. So whether you are helping the poor or unconscious on your back in a fire station while someone named Todd tries to get your blood pressure under control, please enjoy your service, as it makes our community a better place.
About: Alison Gray
TQ associate editor Alison Gray enjoys exploring all aspects of life on The Lake; this summer, she hopes to try stand-up paddling on the Big Blue.
Ali is indeed a saint for her on-the-floor service.
Be it noted that giving blood is no small sacrifice. We were all feeling the wrath of the donation in our one-less-pint bodies late into the night… and even still this morning.
On a more fun note, I learned some great statistics from my kind nurse Sarah:
Did you know that..
3 gallons of blood are used in the US every minute?
Each of our unit donations yesterdays saved 3 people each?
And that the most popular color of arm bandaging tape is blue? (Ali chose pink, Nicci green and me yellow—we love to subvert the paradigm!)
plus, We didn’t only get donuts, but also coffee cake, croissants, pizza and sandwiches!