Growing up, my father needed several transfusions because he had stomach ulcers.  As a young adult I decided to become a blood donor to give the gift of life to others that were in need.  After many years of being a regular donor I had no idea that I myself would be in medical crisis and on the receiving end of the blood donation process.

On November 19, 2004 (three weeks post surgery) I went into disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) at home and started hemorrhaging.  On the way to the hospital I remember telling the paramedics that they needed to drive faster because I didn’t think I was going to make it.  Thankfully, the hospital was only five minutes away, but by the time I arrived I had lost so much blood that my heart soon stopped. Over the course of the next three days I needed more than 300 units of blood components before the bleeding was finally under control.

The prognosis for those with DIC is often grim (I was given a 1% chance of survival). Some consider an alternative definition for DIC as “death is coming.”  If it weren’t for the selfless donations of so many people, I wouldn’t be here today.  Because of the gift I was given, my husband has become a regular apheresis donor and my son has become a regular double red cell donor. If you want to find out more about how you can be also be a blood donor you just need to visit Blood Centers of the Pacific’s main website or the Blood Heroes site for center and blood drive times and locations.

If it were possible, I would love to meet every one of the donors who saved my life, give them a hug, and thank them for being my hero.  Won’t you take the time to donate blood today and become a hero?