I was in hospital earlier this evening to visit a friend and her husband, who just had their first baby. I stayed with them for about 20 minutes or so, then I went to see a few doctors I know (my father also works there).
As I was having a talk, an accident victim was rushed in and my friend had to rush out. The guy urgently needed blood, and it was my blood type (O-) that was required. Although I really cringe at the thought of a needle being pushed into my veins to suck out blood and the slight 'pain' associated with it, I went ahead. They went through the usual procedure, said it was ok to go ahead, then I just told them to do whatever they had to do, closed my eyes and patiently waited for them to finish, trying hard not to feel it and think of something else. I think it was about 500 ml or something, but I'm not sure...I just didn't want to know or hear the details, other than whether or not it would help the patient. They had me sit there for another half hour, pushing me to have a sandwich or two with a drink. Once the guy is in stable condition, I'll go and visit. Just hope I've managed to help him, even if I am not feeling too well.
As I was having a talk, an accident victim was rushed in and my friend had to rush out. The guy urgently needed blood, and it was my blood type (O-) that was required. Although I really cringe at the thought of a needle being pushed into my veins to suck out blood and the slight 'pain' associated with it, I went ahead. They went through the usual procedure, said it was ok to go ahead, then I just told them to do whatever they had to do, closed my eyes and patiently waited for them to finish, trying hard not to feel it and think of something else. I think it was about 500 ml or something, but I'm not sure...I just didn't want to know or hear the details, other than whether or not it would help the patient. They had me sit there for another half hour, pushing me to have a sandwich or two with a drink. Once the guy is in stable condition, I'll go and visit. Just hope I've managed to help him, even if I am not feeling too well.