A note from Ki
Vava got her first blood transfusion yesterday.
The day before, she and I attempted to ride bikes to her school to get in shape for her marathon. We got a block from home and Vava stopped, suddenly huffing and saying, "I think I am having an asthma attack, I can't breathe".
When we went in for scheduled labs that day and told our NP what happened, the numbers came back to prove that what she told us was right: "We often have to give teens a transfusion at this point because when their counts are this low, their blood is not able to carry enough oxygen for them."
Getting a transfusion takes hours, 5 in our case. Just sitting there, watching the blood drip into her and seeing her color go from pasty to glowing was amazing. Boring for her....but she felt so much better.
Vava was worried the blood might give her AIDS, and we asked the nurse about this. The blood they use at Children's comes from volunteer donors only. No one is paid for it. It is all heavily screened and tested. There have been no transfusions causing AIDSor other serious infections from blood since the 80's in Seattle.
What this made me realize is that I need to give blood, and I am asking you all, if you can, to do the same. If you could see how it helped our girl, and realize how it is helping other people suffering through chemo like this, you would be so gratified. The hospital doesn't let people give blood to their own children. It's a much more democratic process, which makes the whole blood-donation business even more significant. You are helping us directly by giving your good healthy blood to the Puget Sound Blood Center.
They have centers for donation in north Seattle and Downtown. Their site is:
http://www.psbc.org/home/index.htm
The bike trip benefiting the Lance Armstrong Cancer Foundation starts next Wednesday on Lopez. This blood is going to make it possible for her to join her classmates on the trip. She has already received donations and per-mile pledges for over $500. She is hoping to bike 25 miles. If you want to get on her list, call us!
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