giving blood

I have never given blood before. I've always had good excuses.

"I don't weigh enough." (high school)
"I'm mildly anemic." (college)
My recent ones have been:
"I'm scared I'll faint."
"There's enough people who donate. They don't need me."

But then something happened a couple weeks ago that has shaken me up a bit. There is a dear, dear family who go to our church. I'll call them the Kay's. Dad, mom, 3 sons. Life has been pretty hard lately. They had a house fire a couple years ago. The dad lost his job and has been unemployed and looking for a very long time. And two weeks ago this happened:

Their middle soon, Jacob (17 years old), was at the beach with some friends. They heard a crash and ran over to see downed trees and power lines in the trees across the road. Jacob (who wants to be a firefighter when he grows up) attempted to put out a small fire on part of a tree. His friends heard something they describe as an explosion and what was like fire coursing down his whole body. Apparently, he came into contact with the the fallen power line. He suffered a concussion and severe electrocution, causing burn spots on his head, neck, hands, arms, chest, feet, and backside, mostly 2nd and 3rd degree burns. He was taken to the hospital, where the doctors told his parents that it was a miracle he was alive.

Since then, he has been in a paralytic/narcotic coma, had three or four surgeries to remove dead muscle tissue, battled pneumonia, and has had a hard time breathing on his own. All of us who heard the news were shocked and scared. Everyone has been praying like crazy for Jacob and his family. And even though prayer is the most important thing right now, I was starting to feel helpless. How could I help more?

The Kays have started a blog where they share updates on Jake and what we can do to help. One of ideas was donate blood in Jacob's name. I remember reading that and being convicted. I've never done it, but it is time.

I'm scared. It probably seems so silly, but I am. I've had shots before, had blood drawn, etc. But the thought of sitting down for 10-15 minutes and watching blood leaving my body and filling up a big ol' bag making me a little nauseous.

And yet, who cares? It seems so small compared to what Jacob and his family are going through.

Obviously, my blood won't be going to Jacob. But since they are using lots of blood on him, it's a cool way to give back to the American Red Cross. And this is something tangible we (many of my college students and co-workers are doing this, too) can do during this scary time.

I was hesitant to blog about this, because I didn't want to come across as "Hey, look at me, I'm giving blood, I'm so great" because that is definitely not the case. This has nothing to do with me and everything to do with a high school boy who is fighting for his life and his family who I love so much. It hurts seeing them in so much pain.

So friends, on July 30th, I'll be rolling up my sleeves. Nervous? Yes. Worth it? Abso-freakin-lutely. BTW, If you want to read the Kays' family blog, let me know and I'll email you the address.