For a pint of me juice

I donnate blood. I haven't in a few years and recieved a call to go donnate last week. I use to be afraid of needles and I still get a little dizzy & nauscious but it isn't anything too terrible nor does it prevent me from donnating.

The crazy thing about donnating blood is I have wanted to do this all my life. My dad use to do it and I knew a few other people who did it while I was growing up. So when I was kid I use to think when I donnate blood it will be a sign I have reached adulthood and I will be cool!!! And when I started donnating I ended up getting dizzy & turning pale afterwards. When you turn pale the nurses bring you juice or water and slap a big wet towel over your forehead. Which takes away from any cool factor or feelings of manhood. Needless to say I have been trying to work on my breathing & looking away from the arm they draw from to alleviate the dizziness. (Which works!)

So I went to donnate and I asked about giving platelets & plasma because they are in need of donnors who can give platelets & plasma. After they checked my veins & my platelet count they recommended I donnate platelets next time because my veins are big enough & I have a high platelet count.

So far I'm feeling good and then my blood is drawn. I have a hard time seeing blood, especially my own. At one point I made the mistake of looking at the tube coming out of my arm and knew I didn't feel well & was getting dizzy. I tried to relax and breathe and thought I was doing fine. After I was finished they let me go and I walked over to the snack area. I could tell I was a little dizzy and a little off but not much and I was almost out of there without being forced to drink juice & have a wet towell on my forehead!!! Just as I was making a coffee selection the nurse who took my blood called me over to her station. She asked me to lie down as "I looked pale" she said before putting a wet towell on my head and giving me cranberry juice! I was so close...almost got out without having to wear the cursed wet towell!

I don't know what's worse. The fact that I feel dizzy & feint after donnating or that I try to sneak out of there without having them put the wet towell on me & make me drink juice. (It makes me feel like a kid again!!) You know it's bad when the really white guy is told he looks pale!