A good half hour
I donated blood this morning for the first time since Mike died. I used to give every three or four months, but somehow I just didn’t get around to it — and quite a few other things — after Mike died.
I had forgotten how easy and quick it is to give a pint of blood. It took me just over a half hour from the time I arrived until I finished a free piece of pizza and left.
I used to be the blood captain when I worked in Rockland County, NY, and I talked most of the people who were eligible into giving. Many became regulars.
See, it only hurts a little when you get stuck, and you don’t have to watch. You don’t have to look at the pint of blood, and most people finish in about 10 minutes.
Then, when you’re done, there’s free food and drink. Water, fruit juice, soda, Oreos, crackers, and today, pizza. Take your pick.
The wonderful thing is how many people one pint of blood can help (five). Mike needed five pints of blood during his first surgery when he was 15 months old. A friend of mine who was in an auto accident used 16 pints during surgery to repair her liver. People who are in chemo and become seriously anemic need blood. People with blood-clotting disorders need it. The list goes on.
A lot of Americans are prohibited from giving blood because they’re on certain medications or have had hepatitis, have had their ears pierced within the last year, have had cancer within the last five years … That list goes on, too.
Summer is a really difficult time for blood banks — accidents increase and the number of donors decreases. The same is true for the holiday season.
So, if you have a half hour and a pint of blood to give, please visit www.redcrossblood.org or call your local American Red Cross chapter. It really is a matter of life and death.
Have a beer in May
Stop into Altamont Brewing, 1042 Haywood Road, West Asheville, any time in May and ask for their "charity" beer of the day. Buy one and Life o' Mike gets $1. In fact, we get a buck for each one sold. So go in every day and have one to support Life o' Mike.
Thanks, Altamont!
Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a peer support program for people with one or more serious or chronic medical issues or disabilities.
We aim to reduce isolation and fear among people who have conditions, including psychiatric illness, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, mild dementia or other cognitive disorder or disability, thereby reducing depression and complications as people learn to improve self-management of their medical conditions.
Patient Pals help alleviate feelings of isolation and frustration. They can help people develop a list of questions to ask the doctor and then accompany the person to the doctor to make sure all the questions are answered, taking notes to be sure the person understands the doctor’s answers.
Our trained volunteers also accompany their “Pals” to art exhibits, movies and walks outdoors, meet for coffee, call to check in and more.
Our Pals have experienced weight loss, improvement in diabetes, HIV, psoriasis, depression and more, just because they have someone who cares about them. Some relationships develop into longer-term friendships; other Pals move on to more independent lives.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
Start From Seed
Life o' Mike has a new program- Start from Seed (SFS).
SFS is a volunteer doula program aimed at providing non-medical, comprehensive support to low income, high-risk women and families of Buncombe County focusing on three areas:
1. We help new doulas with certification and training in return for their participation as a volunteer doula for SFS
2. We mentor volunteer doulas with their first few clients
3. Our volunteer doulas provide birth and postpartum doula services to low income, high risk moms, providing support and tools to empower them as a new parent.
A birth doula is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; a postpartum doula provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.
Start from Seed clients are referred to us from the Buncombe County Department of Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership Program, Western North Carolina Community Health Services, and Mission Hospital. The Program is intended and designed for growing clients’ inner strength and helping them gain empowerment to help them cope with the emotional, physical and mental challenges of childbirth, labor, and motherhood.
Our new moms and their infants have many needs. If you would like to help them get off to a good start, please visit our Start from Seed web site: Start from Seed, or call Program Director Chelsea Kouns at 804-814-9946.
Post a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.