Saturday, 7Aug10, Greenville, SC, The Blood Connection
Blood fact: “Healthy bone marrow makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma and platelets.”
Today was a beautiful day at the Blood Connection blood center in Greenville, S.C.
I had the opportunity to meet some incredible blood donors … both whole blood and platelets donors …. plus … a lot of dedicated, incredible staff, who I spoke to and told them me story and bore my testimony to them of the grace of God and how I knew without a shadow of a doubt that blood donors are selfless and “heroes” to me … I spoke to the staff letting them know how much both I and the donors appreciate everything they do to make sure their is a safe and available blood supply and that we couldn’t do that without their help!
They have a beautiful new blood center building (since March 2010) …the tradition continues as the 1st person I met today and who greeted me … as she welcomed me to their blood center was Amy … thank you Amy! (and I took a picture of her)
Later I met Tom Smitt (Jan K’s husband) and the CEO … Greg … he was on his way out of town to one of many business meetings that blood Center CEO’s have to attend … Thanks Greg for taking the time to talk to me and giving me a short tour of your new building.
As usual … each blood center has a similar mission … yet, they are all different … different region, different buildings, different donors, different staff, and different administrators. However, they all seem to have the same incredible purpose … saving lives in their local community … what a worthy mission!
I spent most of the day meeting donors and staff, thanking them for giving us the “gift of life” and doing my best to let them know how grateful I was to be alive and as a representative of all “blood recipients” I wanted to thank them for the wonderful job they were doing when they(the donors) donate blood and save lives … and … the staff when they package it up safely and make it available to their local community as a life saving mission!
I had a wonderful time talking with the staff and the donors … taking pictures with them and asking the donors … “Have you ever had a recipient come back and say “thank you?” … 99% of the time their answer was … “No … you’re the 1st!” What an incredibly wonderful peaceful feeling that gave me … and … it managed to bring a big smile to their faces! (both men and women alike)
After that day of close encounters with donors … I drove to Atlanta, GA (150 miles away) and I’m now at the hotel (LaQuinta) checked for tonight and for tomorrow night … trying to get ready for a big day on Monday with the LifeSouth blood center team …
If you get a chance go to Facebook and type in “Give Blood” … and check out the pictures uploaded today … if you see your picture don’t hesitate to “tag” yourself … that way you can make sure your name is spelled correctly … Enjoy!
Talk to you later.