Lifeblood

B has been a faithful blood donor since 2006.  He is the blood drive coordinator for his company and is very passionate about giving.  He was recently asked to speak at Lifeblood's annual meeting which is tomorrow.  I thought you might all enjoy reading his speech.  Most of it you already know, but read it and consider donating blood if you are able.

They gave him quite a long time to speak, so it is a little lengthy.

I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to share about my family and how we have been personally impacted by Lifeblood.  I donated blood for the first time in 2006.  A lot has happened in the last 6 years.  But I never would have imagined having the opportunity I have today. 

I think the goal of me being here is to encourage you and help you put a face behind all the work you do.  Well, here is a face for you to remember.  This is my son, Jonah.  In June he was the recipient of blood products that probably passed through many of your hands.  So if you want to put a face behind all those pints you are collecting, here you go.  He’s 5 years old, he weighs 38 pounds, he can beat me at Mario Cart, and I think you will agree with me – he’s a real trooper.

I want to briefly share how I started out donating blood.  I started donating blood in 2006 at work.  It was during the Elvis t-shirt promotion.  One of my friends was in charge of the blood drive on our floor so I asked her what the donation process was like.  I was a little nervous but decided to go ahead and do it.  After that first time I thought to myself, “I will probably never do this again.”  It was pretty uncomfortable.  But then I heard a statistic that 60% of first time donors never donate a second time – and I didn’t want to be part of that statistic.  So I convinced myself to donate a second time.  It wasn’t that bad.  So then I started setting personal goals.  I wanted to donate up to a gallon.  Then 2 gallons.  Currently I have donated almost 4 gallons and now I just try to donate as soon as I am eligible.  Along the way I ended up being the representative for International Paper’s blood drive at the Towers. 

Because of my involvement with the blood drives at work I have talked to a lot of life-long donors.  It didn’t take long to discover a lot of people have a reason for donating.  They had either a family member or close friend who needed blood and that now drives them to donate year round.  So I had a funny feeling that I didn’t just randomly get into blood donation.  I knew I would eventually have a story like most of the donors I’ve met.  I just didn’t know it would happen so soon.

In 2007 Katie and I felt that the Lord was telling us we should adopt a child.  Specifically, a child from China.  Before we officially declared with the China program our agency called and said they had a boy in Hong Kong they wanted us to look at.  He was 3 years old.  From day one our agency shared with us that he had a complex heart condition.  On the same day they emailed us a mug-shot picture.  His chubby cheeks and almond shaped eyes took root in our hearts and we loved him immediately.  We knew his heart condition was pretty serious, but our logic was if God wanted us to have this child, He would give us what we need to take care of him.  And He has been completely faithful to do that.

We eventually started getting medical documents from Hong Kong as we prepared to bring him home.  We met with a cardiologist at Le Bonheur to discuss his condition.  As our cardiologist was looking through all the paperwork her eyes kept getting bigger and bigger.  We were like, “Is everything OK?”  She couldn’t believe he was still alive.  His heart was very special.  In his first year of life he had multiple open heart surgeries.  She prepared us for the fact that when we brought Jonah home he would need another major surgery pretty soon after he arrived.

After a lot of waiting and an unbelievable amount of paperwork, in February of this year we went to Hong Kong and got our son.  We spent a week there meeting the wonderful people who had taken care of him since he left the hospital.  It was amazing to see how dearly loved he was.  The orphanage was not at all what you typically think of when you hear of orphanages in China and other places overseas.  It was very personal.  There were a ton of volunteers.  And they genuinely loved the children under their care.  But, considering all this, how great the facility was, and how well taken care of Jonah was – it would not compare to having his own family, his own mommy and daddy.  So we brought Jonah home and started our new family. 

When we landed in Los Angeles and went through customs, it was such a huge moment.  We missed our son’s very first steps.  But we had a front row seat for his first steps in the United States.  He was so excited to be in America.  Every minute was a new experience for him. 

The first few weeks were filled with joys and challenges.  The process of getting to know Jonah and introducing him to new things was so much fun.  I think we went to get ice cream every day for a solid three months.  It was such a unique time for the 3 of us and we will have those memories forever.

As things settled down we started making plans to have surgery in the summer.  The surgery Jonah needed is called a Fontan.  A major symptom of his condition is that he was not getting enough oxygen in his blood.  The normal oxygen level for you and me is around 99% and his was 80%.  So his little fingers and toes would often turn blue and he would get out of breath faster than the average kid his age.  So the goal of the surgery was to redirect blood flow to his lungs and get more oxygen in his blood.

On June 18 we checked into Le Bonheur.  For this surgery the surgeon likes for the child to be in the hospital 24 hours before the surgery for monitoring and blood work.  Jonah had a blast in the hospital that first night.  I guess for him it was like going on a trip and staying in a hotel.  He played with the bed for most of the night.  There were so many buttons to push.

 

We tried our best to prepare him for what was about to happen.  We also tried to prepare each other. 

The surgery was over in about 5 hours.  The surgeon was very happy with how it turned out.  Jonah did well and should have a normal recovery.  We were relieved. 

It took an hour for them to get his room ready in the ICU.  We were relieved that everything was successful, but still anticipating what we would see going into the room after surgery.  It was a lot to take in.  There were so many tubes and monitors - so many IVs in his little body. 

After a few days some of the tubes were able to come out.  We got Jonah out of the bed and rode around the floor in a wagon.  He could say a few words but his voice was so faint.  It was painful to see him like this.  He was heavily drugged.  If he wasn’t sleeping or crying he had a blank stare and there was no spark in his eyes.  It seemed like progress was either non-existent or very slow.

We expected to be in the hospital for about 10 days.  After day 7 our cardiologist ordered an echocardiogram.  It was a test that would need to be done before we left the hospital but based on how lethargic Jonah had been she wanted to go ahead and get it done.

After talking with the doctor we knew we would be there for at least another week.  So right after the echo I left the hospital for the first time since we checked in just to go get a few things from home.  On my way home Katie called me and said to hurry up because there was a problem.  The echo showed a blood clot in Jonah’s heart near the Fontan and the doctors were going to discuss what to do about it later that night.  It was around 2 in the afternoon.  So I rushed home.  When I got home Katie called again and said they were taking Jonah into the cath lab right then and I needed to get there now.  So I rushed back to LeBonheur and made it there just in time to kiss his forehead and hear the doctor tell us all the risks involved.

The risks were high.  There were no great options.  But they all agreed they should go in and attempt to break up the clot.  I had a horrible feeling in my stomach.  We had prepared for the surgery, but not for any complications.  It was very scary. 

The goal was to break up the clot through a catheter using an angiojet, and then drip a drug named TPA through the catheter overnight to dissolve whatever was left. 

After the procedure the doctor explained they had busted up 40% of the clot and they were hoping the TPA would take care of the rest of it that night.

Around midnight things had settled down so Katie and I went to the cafeteria and ate a couple of cheeseburgers.  The last few hours had been really intense and we were hungry.  After that we went back to the room and the nurse was explaining all the new tubes and IVs and told us they would take really good care of Jonah that night.  So we went to bed.

Every night we slept to the sound of Jonah’s heartbeat.  Actually there were a lot of sounds – and we just got used to it.  Alarms would go off – we would sit up and ask the nurse if everything was alright – then lay back down and try to sleep. 

It was the middle of the night.  The monitor was beating faster than normal.  We knew what normal was at this point and this was not normal.  Throughout the night Jonah’s heartbeat got faster and faster.  Something was not right. 

Over the next few hours Jonah would develop a huge hematoma in his thigh.  60% of his blood went to his thigh.  His leg got so big I could only look at it a few seconds at a time.  We didn’t know how serious it was.  Was he going to lose his leg?  Some of the nurses were crying.  Katie was crying.  Our cath doctor was called in early and immediately started putting pressure on his leg.  It was frantic.  People were moving quickly.  Our cardiologist got there and tried to calm us down.  For a few hours the scene was very intense.

Eventually the bleeding stopped.  He spent the next 2 days on the ventilator just to let everything calm down.  After the breathing tube came out progress was slow but steady.  Eventually life started coming back into my son’s eyes and we were able to leave the hospital.  We were there for 3 weeks.

Let me take this opportunity to say how thankful we are for the facilities and staff at Le Bonheur.  They went out of their way to keep us informed and comfortable during our stay there.  And the way they cared for Jonah was heart-warming. 

Looking back on it now – it’s hard to believe.  He has made a full recovery.  He recently celebrated his 5^th birthday.  He started home school about a month ago.  He loves math.  He loves Mario and Louigi.  He loves cheeseburgers.  And thanks to one of our friends he now loves Chuck E Cheese. 

We are so thankful for his progress over the last few months.  He’s an amazing child and his future looks positive.  But I think we all know the story had potential to be very different.

I never heard how many units or how many blood products Jonah needed while we were there, but I know I saw a lot of red bags and FFPs during those 3 weeks.  It was amazing to see Jonah’s body respond as the doctors would give him blood.  He obviously needed blood after the clot in his leg.  And then at other times they would use blood to regulate certain vital signs.  They used blood products the same way they used other medications.  If they didn’t like something the monitor was showing they would order more blood. 

So I really started to understand that there is life in those bags.  People really depend on the blood supply.  We didn’t have to postpone the surgery because the blood supply was low.  We didn’t have to deal with a tragic situation when Jonah lost 60% of his blood.  The blood was available.  It was right down the hall.  There was no waiting.

Actually, I can’t imagine what it would have been like if the blood were not available.  Children with Jonah’s condition are only eligible for this surgery for a short time period.  In other words, the older you get, the more resistant your body is to this procedure.  The window of time is very narrow.  In fact, if Jonah were born in the United States our cardiologist would have done this surgery a few years ago.  So how awful would it have been if he made it this far, survived multiple open heart surgeries in Hong Kong, came to America and then had to wait for the blood supply to be replenished before he could have the surgery. 

What if that morning when life was bleeding out of my son, the doctors said I’m sorry, there is nothing we can do.  We’re out of blood. 

Thanks to the efforts of everyone in this room, we don’t have to ask those questions today.  Thanks to you, when I get home from work, as long as Little Einstein’s or Diego is not on, I am greeted with hugs and smiles from my little boy. 

I know many of you start your day very early in the morning – especially you who work the mobile drives.  But when you have a hard time waking up, and it’s just too early in the morning – remember because of what you are doing I am able to kiss my boy before I leave for work.  Do you realize that?

You are impacting real lives in our community.  The work you do collecting and recruiting may seem like it’s just another job – but you are saving lives every day.

At my job at International Paper things get stressful.  But every once in a while I have to remind myself it’s just paper.  No one is going to die if they don’t get their paper!

But when you go to work you must remember people’s lives are depending on you.  You may not get the same publicity and recognition – but Lifeblood has the same “hero status” as police officers and firemen.  Phlebotomy may not sound as glamorous as pulling a child from a burning building.  And going to North Eastern Arkansas for a mobile drive may not sound as exciting as chasing down armed bank robbers.  But believe me when I say you are all heroes. 

Without Lifeblood our community would suffer. 

So I want to thank you again for letting me share my family’s story.  But mainly I want to thank you for what you are doing to sustain the blood supply in our community. 

You know, I think for most people the blood supply is like electricity.  You don’t even think about it until it’s gone and you need it.  Think about how dysfunctional we are when the power goes out!  We go around the house looking for candles and sometimes will try to turn the lights on so we can find the candles but then we forget that’s why we need the candles because the power’s out.  The air is out.  It starts getting hot.  There’s no TV.  We feel like life is on pause until everything comes back on.

But in all seriousness, when the blood supply goes out, life IS on pause.  Life does stop.  When faced with an accident or emergency surgery, you can’t wait it out.  You can’t just wait for the power to come back on. 

The Mid-South is very fortunate to have Lifeblood keeping the power on for our blood supply.  Your efforts are making life better for so many people.  Thank you for what you are doing, and thank you for your commitment to our community.