Embarrassing moments
It was September of 1999, and my father-in-law was already gravely ill. As his health was deteriorating quickly, it soon became necessary for him to receive a blood transfusion.
I immediately offered to donate, in spite of what had happened to me years ago. After all, I had donated a few more times and nothing had happened. And even if it had, it was my father-in-law, and I loved that man.
Once again, everything went smoothly. At the end of the procedure, I requested if I could lay in there for a little longer, in order to prevent any problems. They had no issues with that.
A few minutes later, I started to feel how my blood pressure was rapidly going down. I began to sweat profusely, and my heart went crazy. I had to grab my chair, because it felt like it was going to flip in the air and put me upside down. The nurses got worried and called the doctor, who made me smell alcohol to see if I would react to it.
Have you ever breathed through a piece of cotton embedded in pure alcohol? OK, don't.
Once they got me back from the ceiling (...), they continued to monitor my vital stats for about an hour and then let me go, not before they suggested giving me my blood back, to which I refused firmly: "I go through all this sh*t for him, and you want to put the blood back in me? Forget it!"
Once I was let go, I stumbled to the room where my father-in-law was and announced, with a paper-white face:
- It's all done. You have my blood. Now move aside...
And I laid in the hospital bed right next to him!
To add insult to injury, I was told a few days later that they couldn't use my blood because it had tested positive for Chagas-Maza desease. A false positive, as I hadn't been anywhere near the areas when you can catch this sickness. Due to that false positive, I will never be able to donate blood again.
Then I did want my blood back.
Nuevamente, todo salió de acuerdo a lo planeado. Al final de la extracción, yo pedí quedarme recostado por un rato más largo, para evitar inconvenientes. No tuvieron problemas con ello.
A pesar de todo, a los pocos minutos comencé a notar cómo mi presión sanguínea se iba para abajo. Empecé a sudar copiosamente, y mis latidos se aceleraron. Tuve que aferrarme a la silla, porque sentía como su la fueran a dar vuelta en el aire y ponerme cabeza abajo. Las enfermeras se preocuparon y llamaron al doctor, que me hizo oler alcohol, para ver si reaccionaba.
Alguna vez han olido un pedazo de algodón embebido en alcohol puro? OK, no lo hagan.
Una vez que me descolgaron del techo (…) continuaron monitoreando mis signos vitales por una hora y luego me dejaron ir, no sin haber sugerido el ponerme la sangre de nuevo, a lo que me rehusé firmemente: “Soporté este rato de mi**da por él, y ahora me quieren volver a poner la sangre? Olvídense!”
Una vez que me dejaron ir, llegué a los tumbos hasta la habitación en que se encontraba mi suegro y le anuncié, blanco como un papel:
- Ya está. Ya tienen mi sangre. Ahora muévase un poquitito…
Y me acosté en la cama del hospital con él!
Para peor, a los pocos días me llegó una carta en la que decían que habían tenido que descartar mi sangre porque había testeado positiva para el mal de Chagas-Maza. Un positivo falso, porque yo ni siquiera había estado cerca de las áreas en las que uno puede contraer esta enfermedad. Debido a este falso positivo, nunca más pude volver a donar sangre.
Ahí sí que quise que me devolvieran lo que había donado!
My wishes for you,
ReplyDeleteGreat start for Jan,
Love for Feb,
Peace for March,
No worries for April,
Fun for May,
Joy for June to Nov,
Happiness for Dec,
Have a lucky and wonderful 2010, Gabriel and family!
feliz año, gabriel.
ReplyDeletepara vos y tu hermosa familia, te deseo un 2010 cumpliendo metas .
por un año mas de buenas historias.
Hold it, how could they not done the test before extracting the blood from you?! Normally, all tests will be done before going through the procedure...pfft!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I wish you more blood for 2010! Hehehe Seriously, may the new year bring you and your family good health, joy, love and success!