Once a month, for the past 3 months, I've been donating plasma. I go in on a Saturday morning and let them stick a needle in my arm for close to two hours. Most people would think this is really weird, but I kind of enjoy it. First off, I donate it. Donate, as in I don't get paid to do it, I'm not THAT hard up. Really. And second, it actually doesn't hurt at all.
They let me pick out any movie I want to watch, as long as it was made in 1991 and is on VHS. So far I've watched Sister Act, Jurassic Park and the Panic Room. I wouldn't recommend watching a suspenseful movie when you've got a needle stuck in your arm. Not for obvious reasons though. Donating plasma makes me a little...drunk...so I wasn't paying too much attention to the movie. Suspense movies usually require a little bit more attention to detail than comedies or actions, so I got bored with it.
The plasma sucking out procedure involves only one needle through which whole blood exits my arm and after processing and plasma removal, red blood cells and saline go back into my arm. I think they only take about a cup out at a time, and then spin it up and transfer the plasma to a bag. It looks like pee and they take a whole liter out of me. The saline is cold and makes my lips tingle, but that's okay because the nice nurses will tuck a blanket around me and bring me some Gatorade at room temperature with a straw in it. Not a bendy straw, but you can't get EVERYTHING. If I'm really lucky, they'll fill a rubber glove up with warm water and let me hug it like a hot water bottle. Luxurious. It's a little bit like going to the spa, right?
Seriously, for the price of having a needle in my arm for 2 hours I get to lay around and watch TV while people fuss over me. How much better could it get? OH yeah! Cookies!
Can't hardly wait until October 3rd.....
3 comments:
Who's the person in the picture?
It's me mom!
Just kidding, it's just a random picture from the internet.
if you have lots of time on your hands then write some postcards too. donating plasma is really good and so is writing postcards. we miss your post!!
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