Monday, March 16, 2020

blood donor, that's me

Last Thursday, on a quest to regain my religion and restore my sanity, I gave a pint of life - whole blood - to the world.
Amazingly, that did much to reassure me that the world will continue, coronavirus pandemic or not.
The safety precautions the American Red Cross has added to their repertoire, to continue to assure the purity of the blood going to those in need during this new crisis, are also designed to keep donors healthy.
My thanks to Dorothy and Whitney for taking such good care of me whilst there.
I've now received an email about one such donor - a tiny, young child - whose life depends on folks like me.

"Thank you, Faustina!
Blood donations help save lives.
Like Kaden's. Kaden is a happy, energetic 2-year-old who loves truck rides, pineapple and pepperoni pizza, and playing in the park with his siblings. In May of 2019 he was diagnosed with Stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. Kaden has received blood transfusions as part of his treatment and will need more as treatment continues.
Kaden's family knows how important blood donations can be. "From the first week Kaden was diagnosed my desire has been to do something that would benefit kids battling cancer," said Shanna, Kaden's mother. "After many treatments and procedures requiring Kaden to have frequent blood and platelet transfusions, it became clear that donating blood products in order to help keep these kids as healthy as they can be while receiving treatments was what we wanted to do."
Thanks to the generosity of blood donors like you, Kaden and patients like him will continue to receive the transfusions they desperately need. When you donate blood, you help give hope and healing to those who face life and death challenges. We hope you'll consider coming back to donate again soon. Your generosity can help change lives and keep families together.
With every 8 units you donate, you reach a special milestone. We love to celebrate, so we're keeping track. You've got 6 units left until you reach your next milestone.
"

Y'all are most welcome.
Here's to staying safe until better times prevail once more.

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