Find the gift in you

Find the Gift in You

Everyone has a lifesaving gift. Whether they choose to give that gift is up to them. Donating blood is a decision that can affect up to three lives. Most people who donate blood never get to meet the people who receive their blood. I got the chance to not only meet, but be the granddaughter of my recipient.

When I was a seventh grader in middle school, I found this baby picture of a little girl in an incubator. I asked my mom, “who is this and why have I not seen this picture before?” I also realized at the time I had never seen my birth certificate until this day. I later found out I was born three months early and wasn’t expected to live. That is where my blood story begins. My mother had given me a blood transfusion to hopefully help keep me alive. My mom was my saving grace on this earth. My mother gave me a chance of life, and a way to breathe. Although at the time I didn’t realize the importance of this action or how much it could mean to me, I would never know that I would then have the chance to give back on my own years later.

I was able to start giving blood at the end of my sophomore year. Once I had found out that my mom had saved my life, I was ready to start saving other lives. Once I started giving blood a year later, I had found out that my grandma was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer. It completely crushed me, but after I had did my research I knew by giving blood I could help her. Every bag of blood I donated would go to my grandma if she needed it after chemotherapy or if her red blood count was low. It just made me feel way better because I could actually do something instead of just sitting back and watch her life spiral down. I had helped her for a year and a half by me donating blood. Then on June 26 my life came crashing down. The cancer had finally taken my grandma from me. Just because I could not help my grandma anymore didn’t stop me from giving my gift. Later that year my step-mom had to go in for her third open heart surgery. They told her she would have to have a blood transfusion after the surgery because she was already low on her red blood count. She had known I had given blood and decided to ask me. She had asked me because I was the only person in our family not scared of needles and had the guts to give blood.

Everybody has a gift of giving in life; whether they choose to use their gift is up to them. I will continue to give blood until I cannot give anymore. Even though I may not directly save anyone else in my family doesn’t mean I don’t want to stop saving somebody else’s life. You never know what someone’s story is or what they could be going through, so knowing that I could make an impact on somebody’s life just by donating means the world to me.

The first photo you see is my grandma and my grandpa before she was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer. The next picture is my step-mom before her third open heart surgery. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for being generous for providing this scholarship.