By Pastor Leah Fintel Krotz, Trinity Lutheran Church, Bruning
When I was about five years old and my sister was still a baby, my mom and dad traveled to Omaha so that Mom could have a serious operation—a surgery that was necessary to save her life, but was experimental at that time. As a young child, I wasn’t given much information, but I do remember the cloud of anxiety that seemed to hang over all of our family during that time. Dad and my Grandma Barth went to be with Mom during the operation, and Grandma and Grandpa Fintel stayed with my sister and I. Mom was in the hospital for three weeks, and when she came home, she was in a body cast for nine months, not able to even pick up my baby sister.
It wasn’t until I was older that I was told that Mom had gone into shock during the surgery and nearly died on the operating table. She required many pints of blood transfusions. After that, my dad became a regular blood donor, and continued to give as long as his health permitted. Once I was a teenager, I couldn’t wait to be old enough to join him in donating when the “Bloodmobile” came to Byron or Deshler.
This week I donated blood again at the blood drive held at Deshler Lutheran Schools. I believe I’m working toward my 8th gallon, which is nothing compared to how much some have given. I do this because I know how important it is for so many—those with cancer, people who have been in terrible accidents, children with rare diseases. We all just assume that blood will be available, if, God forbid, we or our loved ones need it, but it’s only available if ordinary people take just an hour or less out of their day once in a while to give.
Donating now is so easy and comfortable. You can answer all of the health questions ahead of time in the privacy of your own home with the “Rapid Pass” system. Volunteers provide delicious treats. There are often thank-you gifts such as t-shirts and gift cards. And, as a friend once told me, where else can you get a free health check-up every eight weeks?
But more than all this is the opportunity to actually save a life. I urge you to visit redcross.org to locate the next available blood drive in our area, and do just that.
“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.” -Proverbs 3:27
