well, that was a first

This past weekend I went to a nearby American Red Cross station to give blood. You might remember my first time giving blood was last July and I was terrified. But it ended up being a great experience and I have given blood a few times since then. But something happened this time that was a "first" for me.

So I'm sitting on the puffy table thingy. The vein was found, the needle went in. No problems. My technician (named Noah) said my bag was filling up quite nicely. Sweet. He turned his back to check on something and as I sat there watching the wall, I suddenly starting feeling light-headed. Then my vision started going blurry. My stomach started feeling weird. Hungry? No, more like nauseated. I think I started freaking out a little. I remember thinking, "Should I say something to Noah?"

The next thing I know, I'm flat on my back, a cold washcloth was on my forehead, and a strange woman's face was RIGHT above mine. "Sarah! Wake up! Open your eyes!" I opened my eyes and I did not recognize the woman. I was super disoriented. Where was I? Who were these people? What was going on?

Dude. I fainted.

I have always wondered what it would feel like to faint. And now I can finally say I know. (Check it off my bucket list?)

I lay there awhile trying to gather my senses. I felt sweaty and clammy. I finally asked the lady (Gail), "How long was I out for?" She smiled and said, "Only about 5 seconds." I guess Noah was fiddling with my blood bag when he noticed my arm went rigid and then he looked at me and saw I had fainted. He put the table flat, called for Gail to come over, and they quickly grabbed a cold washcloth and started yelling at me to wake up.

I turned toward Noah and croaked out, "Did you get enough blood?" He also smiled and said, "Yes. We got the full bag. You did great. Just relax."

They watched me like a hawk. I lay flat for 10 minutes, sat up a bit for 5 minutes, came to a full sitting position for 5 minutes, swung my legs to the side for 5 minutes, and then shuffled to the snack table and stayed there 45 minutes. (Normally you only have to stay 15 minutes)

I can't believe I fainted.

Weirdest. Feeling. Ever.

Have any of you ever fainted?