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| Photo: A heap of crumpled orange metal sits behind a chain link fence on the grounds of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah. A sign on the fence reads, "DANGER CONSTRUCTION AREA KEEP OUT" |
The theme for this week: life isn't always pleasant, but it is worth it, and it is always worth it to look back for the things to be thankful for.
1. I donated whole blood this week. Unlike platelet donation, which doesn't agree with me, it's very fast and easy for me to donate whole blood. Funny story: there was a man and woman donating next to me, and they were racing each other. The nurse who was helping me, hooked me up and immediately whispered to me, "You're going to beat both of them!" And I did. I filled that bag in three minutes, 27 seconds. We all have our talents, I guess, and one of mine is bleeding. I'm thankful that I can help others.
2. One of the benefits of having a child in medical school is that he reminds me to take care of age-appropriate procedures. I'm a few years late, but I bit the bullet and scheduled a routine screening colonoscopy. I'm thankful for caring children.
3. I actually scheduled the procedure weeks ago; the actual screening happened this week. How was I to know when I scheduled it that it would be on the day of a heavy snowstorm? Even the state offices had delayed openings, and that isn't very common here in Utah, where we are well-prepared with lots of snow plows. I'm thankful that the storm was fast-moving, and that my appointment time was 12:15, so the main roads were easily passable.
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| Photo: A slushy, mostly-clear road as viewed from the passenger's side of the car |
4. Remember the blood donation listed above? I'm still thankful I donated, but it did make getting an IV started a little bit trickier. I'm thankful that I have a fairly high tolerance for pain and that I don't get queasy easily, so when the nurse told me she was going to have to "fish around" a bit for my vein that I could just laugh it off.
5. As you can probably tell from various items in this post, I'm a bit competitive. I'm old enough to realize that my competitiveness is rather dumb--although if they come up with an Olympic bloodletting event, I might change my opinion. In any case, another of my "talents" is the ability to fall asleep very quickly. Apparently I take pride in it, because as I was being wheeled into recovery after the colonoscopy, I remarked, "I fall asleep so quickly--and that was without anesthesia! Just wait until you give me the anesthesia!" I was so surprised when the nurse told me that the procedure was all over. I'm still laughing at myself. I'm thankful for the ability to sleep through medical procedures--even (and especially) those that require anesthesia.
6. I'm thankful that the results were A-OK and (7.) I won't have to repeat the procedure until 2030!
8. John and I went to Salt Lake City yesterday and walked around Temple Square a bit. The Salt Lake Temple is now closed for 4 years while it undergoes earthquake retrofitting and other remodeling projects. I wanted to see the construction site. I'm thankful I could take photos through the chain-link fencing, and witness this historic renovation. It will get worse before it gets better, but isn't that how life is sometimes? (The Salt Lake Temple will have an open house for the public when the renovations are complete, before being rededicated, so if you ever wanted to visit Utah, plan to come in 4 years!)
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| Photo: The Salt Lake Temple stands in contrast to the construction scene surrounding it |
9. We also wandered into the Tabernacle, which is still open and not scheduled for remodeling. It had been a very long time since I was in there for an acoustics demonstration, and it is different than I remembered. Besides dropping a pin (which we could all easily hear, even 100 feet away), the sister missionaries tore a piece of paper, and spoke (unaided by microphone) while turning their backs on us. No matter which direction they faced, we could hear what they were saying. The Tabernacle is quite the engineering feat. I'm thankful for the sacrifices the early church members made to construct such a beautiful building.
10. As always, I'm thankful for John, who loves strangely-competitive me, even during less-than-pleasant weeks.
OK, your turn. What are you thankful for this week? Are you up-to-date with your routine screenings? Take care of yourself!
Counting to ten with me this week:
The Prolific Pulse
A Multitude of Musings
A Season and a Time
MessyMimi's Meanderings
Carin's Gratitude
The Wakefield Doctrine
Backsies is What There is Not
Lovely gratefuls! Maybe I'll hit Utah in 4 years!
ReplyDeleteI hope you do!
DeleteVery impressive that you are able to so quickly donate blood and not pass out at the end. When I was able to donate I learned very quickly it was best for me to take it slowly.
ReplyDeleteYou may be competitive, but it comes across in a nice way. :-)
Thank you.
DeleteThat's wonderful, the good medical news. Never neglect those tests, they really do save lives.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to have it over with.
DeleteI'm a good bleeder, too! I used to give blood all the time and would have a little competition with whoever was near to me (I was the only one who knew we were competing, though). I always won!
ReplyDeleteIs there ever a good time to have a colonoscopy? I had mine several years ago on July 5, so I couldn't partake of any of the 4th of July food! That anesthesia they use for that is pretty sneaky, isn't it? If you got the same thing I did, it's the same thing Michael Jackson used and called his "milk".
Glad your test was negative! And I hope this week is wonderful and relaxing for you.
Yes, it was the Michael Jackson drug. I did like that it didn't leave me groggy afterwards.
Delete