PROGRESS UPDATE
A goal of Pan Reas on their Original 101 Things in 1001 Days list with a status of Done.
I did it!
I’ve been preparing for a month this time, after a previous attempt was unsuccessful, so was nervous for two reasons:
1) the obvious, new experience, needle, will it hurt, will I pass out
2) really wanting to just get it done and not be rejected again
During this month and especially the last week I ate a lot of beef, lamb, chickpeas, lentils, tofu + vitamin C-rich fresh orange juice, capsicum and carrots.
During the initial check, before testing my hemoglobin, the nurse tested my heart rate, and found that it was a little too high (104) to be able to donate, but she said that’s common on a first donation and we’ll measure that again later to see if it drops. My hemoglobin turned out okay – 129. The minimum to be allowed to donate is 120 and last time I was 118. Still not super-high so it looks like I really need to work at it to be eligible, but good news for this time.
I then sat in the donating area, chatted a little to my friend who was donating plasma (and was fine), read a book and tried to control my breathing. The nurse came back and measured my pulse manually and it was still too high. I knew it would be fine but I couldn’t help being nervous! After more attempts to calm down, some water, and a brief call to my girlfriend I finally managed to get it down to 98. So finally I was allowed to do it...
I’ve been preparing for a month this time, after a previous attempt was unsuccessful, so was nervous for two reasons:
1) the obvious, new experience, needle, will it hurt, will I pass out
2) really wanting to just get it done and not be rejected again
During this month and especially the last week I ate a lot of beef, lamb, chickpeas, lentils, tofu + vitamin C-rich fresh orange juice, capsicum and carrots.
During the initial check, before testing my hemoglobin, the nurse tested my heart rate, and found that it was a little too high (104) to be able to donate, but she said that’s common on a first donation and we’ll measure that again later to see if it drops. My hemoglobin turned out okay – 129. The minimum to be allowed to donate is 120 and last time I was 118. Still not super-high so it looks like I really need to work at it to be eligible, but good news for this time.
I then sat in the donating area, chatted a little to my friend who was donating plasma (and was fine), read a book and tried to control my breathing. The nurse came back and measured my pulse manually and it was still too high. I knew it would be fine but I couldn’t help being nervous! After more attempts to calm down, some water, and a brief call to my girlfriend I finally managed to get it down to 98. So finally I was allowed to do it...
Posted 12 years ago
