Blood

I was working in Haslingden today, I was driving the lorry and Amanda was driving the mini bus. There are two ways that we return home, I said my way was the quicker route.....we decided to race back (within speed limits and safely, of course!!) The mini bus is faster, but she said that she stuck to just under sixty on the motorway...the limit for the lorry. She beat me by a minute....damn!! I was graceful in defeat.....just. ha ha ha. Amanda was grinning all day anyway as she is off now for three weeks, so she didn't care. lol

Caillech.....Is this pic of blood in test tubes more acceptable than a big, fat, juicy vein?


I sent my latest blog off two weeks ago and it still hasn't been put on the NHSBT site....grrrr. I've put it on here now, but you don't have to read it, it is here as part of my diary......


PROUD

What have you done today to make you feel proud? Oh Heather Small, where were you on Friday? We needed that song to ring out across the room in Wilmslow.
 
We should all have moments when we feel pleasure from our own achievements whether they are small or mighty. We have trainees on our team at the moment. It is daunting to join a team, it is even more daunting to join a team in a job you have never done before. There is so much to learn….SOPs to read, procedures, equipment….information is thrown at you left, right and centre. Every little step is an achievement and we shouldn’t overlook the little moments that make you feel proud. Paula had one of those moments at Wilmslow on Friday….when she came out of her booth after completing her first solo health screening she felt like Heather Small should have serenaded her as she felt so proud of herself….and so she should. It was a great feeling for her to start the weekend with. I wonder what song we need to play when she puts her first needle in….answers on a postcard, please.
 
Health screening is a vital part of the blood donation process. We do rely on the honesty of donors and it can be quite an intimate moment as personal details are discussed. The same form is gone through each time and the same supplementary questions are asked…..but sometimes it can be the platform for hilarious moments. “You’ve not had sexual contact with anyone in the last twenty eight days who has had a positive diagnosis of the zika virus in the last six months?” I have had many different responses to this:
 
I’ve not had sex for twenty years
I don’t think so
I’m married!
Only with my wife and if she has then I’ll kill her!
I’d rather have a piece of cake
I’m trying to remember if I’ve actually had sex in the last twenty eight days…
 
Even though a simple yes or no will suffice, I love all the different responses. Every now and then you will hear a laugh from behind the screens. It is a good job we have to have the radio playing so we can’t all hear what goes on in there.
 
I usually end my health screening by asking a donor if they have any questions that they would like to ask me. I’ve been asked by new donors if it hurts when the needle goes in, how long a donation takes and will they find out their blood group. I have also been asked….if I have the winning numbers for that week’s lottery, if I am free that night and if there are custard cream biscuits on the tea table as ‘that is the best part about giving blood!!’.
 
The trouble with asking the same question every day is that your brain can play tricks on you too. My brain was still guffawing at a funny conversation I’d had during my break and hadn’t quite got itself into work mode again when I entered my screening booth with a donor. I thought I was asking the donor if she had any questions to ask me, but it came out as….”So have you got any secrets you’d like to tell me?” Eeek! It could have been awkward (it could have also been interesting), but fortunately it just turned out to be funny and every time she caught my eye whilst she was donating she starting chuckling.
 
So, what have we done today to make us feel proud? We all have something every day, whether we realise it or not. Every donor should feel proud that their donation can help up to three people. There was a lady who came to donate last week and she had had a couple of underweight donations previously and had been told that her next attempt would be ‘make or break’. If it didn’t work this time then maybe it was time to call it a day. She really didn’t want to stop donating and was quite anxious. The donations started well, then it began to slow. I got her to squeeze her hand, clench and unclench her buttocks and move her legs…..”squeeze and hold.......and relax…..and squeeze….” Heck, I was squeezing with her! She did it, a full donation and she was beaming from ear to ear. She was so proud that she put a photo on the NHSBT Face Book page saying how proud she was.
 
Paula, and all the other trainees should feel proud of each step of their training. So go out there and feel proud about something that you’ve done today!!