Good morning! Thought I'd just update you on my attempt (note the word attempt) to donate blood. Never having done it before, I just turned up at the donation centre on the day and thought I might have to queue for a while. Foolish me; the place was packed and, it turned out that appointments are NECESSARY. Fitting in collecting E from school and a little ferrying to and fro for a piano lesson, I made an appointment for 6:30. I dutifully returned at the appointed time (having had a quick sandwich and cup of tea - for those of you who have never donated, you are not advised to do it on an empty stomach), filled in the forms and, as they were running 40 minutes late, was told to take a seat.
It was quite an eye opener, sitting waiting. Again, the place was packed full of people from every walk of life - young, old, male, female, all turning up after a tiring day just to do something to help complete strangers. There was even a pair of pierced, tattooed youths who, to be honest, I would have given a wide berth to on a dark night (I sound really old don't I?!). It was a humbling experience and I felt immensely proud of them all.
When I filled in the forms, it did occur to me that my heart murmur might be a bit of an issue. As far as I'm aware, it's completely innocent. It was picked up during a routine medical when I was a student and, apart from keeping an eye on it when I was pregnant, it has never caused me any problems. What it does do however, is stop me from donating blood! Maybe not forever though - I filled in a consent form to allow them to contact my GP and, if she says it's OK, they will call me back at a later date. So, it was all a bit of an anticlimax really. I returned home rather sheepishly and ate a baked potato the size of my foot as consolation. I refuse to cross it off my 50 list, however, and GP permitting , I will try again soon.
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