Last Thursday, the Tau Omega Mu Fraternity and its Ladies' Circle (oh gosh, correct me if I'm wrong) conducted a blood-letting drive. The collected blood will go to the Philippine General Hospital blood bank. My friend Yayie had been dreaming of herself donating blood, as part of her mission being a "good Samaritan... seriously.". She missed the blood letting drive last time because her mom did not permit her, and I told her that the next time there'd be one, I will accompany her. I never thought it'd be this soon. Gosh. But I promised, and I don't want her to lose her trust in me. And perhaps, I also want to help.
So there, it all went so fast. We filled up the donor's form, got our blood pressure checked and weighed ourselves. Then they have this thing which they use to check the hemoglobin and your blood type (which i forgot to ask! dang it!). The doctor rubbed my right ring finger with cotton and alcohol, and I realized he's going to prick it. I wasn't ready, so when he did it, I yelled a short "ah!". The kuya simply laughed at my reaction. It was crazy. Lol. After knowing that we're able to donate, we lie down on the folding beds they had set up on the lobby.
I never have imagined myself in that situation. There I was, in one of PGH's rusty folding beds, holding in my left hand a stress ball, a long needle on my arm with a bag connected in the end, collecting my blood. I was listening to my recently downloaded Twilight audiobook, and I just imagined Edward Cullen sucking my blood. lol. Yayie was the first to finish, because she only donated 250 cc, and because I weigh greater (and when I say greater, i mean MUCH greater), I had to fill the bag with 450 cc of my precious royal blood. But it was alright, I never felt anything, just a little throbbing pain when they inserted the needle on my arm.
I felt good afterwards, not only because my blood circulation is going back to normal with much cleaner blood, but also because of the awareness that I had helped someone in need. After the doctor put my blood bag on their container, I can't help but imagine who would be my recipient. Maybe he or she is like A Walk to Remember's Jamie Sullivan who has leukemia, or maybe a dengue victim. Maybe he or she is like my grandmother, who was then at the verge of dying, but was given an extension of few days because of the blood transfused to her. There are too many possibilities. I just hope my blood recipient, who I gave another chance to live, will live his or her life to the fullest. :)
Another one: Accidental Charity
Last night, Aira and I bought some donuts because of her curiosity to try one of those triple chocolate donuts. I wasn't really in the mood for eating donuts, but I was hungry, so I decided to take a shot and buy one. I put it in my backpack and we started walking. Then Aira said to me: "KC, why did you buy your donut only to give it to someone else?" I was puzzled. And then I turned and saw that the donut I bought had fallen smack into an old woman's lap. My backpack had opened (I knew it was retiring after four years of good, unparalled service). She was on the sidewalk, begging for alms. She smiled gratefully to me, holding up my donut, and said thanks. I let my donut go away. It only cost me a few pesos, but for the old woman, it meant so much. Maybe that donut was all that she had to eat for the day, and I don't want to bring her disappointment by taking the donut again. Perhaps the old woman's smile is so thankful, and I knew for sure that I am going to get good karma from this.
I went home with nothing to eat but with a happy heart. :)
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