This is a photo of my grandpa and I celebrating his 80th birthday on July 6, 2010.
The days leading up to a major holiday like Thanksgiving are always busy in my household. During this time of year the days start to get shorter, but it seems the list of things that need to get done gets longer. Soon the Christmas season will begin and the hustle and bustle to close out the year will only become more fierce. So it seemed the Thanksgiving of 2012 would shape out like all the ones before. I was in the ninth grade and it appeared this year, just like the ones before my family would shuffle into a car and spend the holiday at my Uncle’s house eating too much turkey and later attempting to finish the pumpkin pie. Then, the phone rang.
After a few minutes on the phone my mom came into my room. She told me my grandpa had passed away in his sleep last night. After a long and courageous battle with laryngeal cancer his body had finally had enough. Soon after the news spread throughout the family, arrangements were made, and the funeral occurred, but still I had yet to process the entirety of the situation. And now, four years after his passing and currently as a senior finishing out my last year in high school I am still able to look back and remember that the simple act of blood donation from kind strangers allowed me more time with my grandpa.
The diagnosis came in the winter of 2009. Symptoms like a persistent sore throat that just wouldn’t go away prompted a visit to the doctor. Soon after the treatment began, and with every treatment of chemotherapy two units of lifesaving blood was pumped into his veins. The simple act of donating blood became the cornerstone for what extended the life of the man who was known to me as a friend, loved one, and above all my grandfather. Someone took time out of their day to donate and because of that I was able to spend more time getting to know my grandpa. The people who donated didn’t know it, but their gestures of kindness altered my life forever. During my grandpa’s battle with cancer, visits to my grandparent’s house became precious moments that I will cherish for the rest of my life. The time that was granted through the blood he received allowed me to share simple moments with him like learning more about his childhood, finding where he came from, or just discovering the type of kind, warmhearted man that he was and those moments I experienced are ones I will always be able to look back upon with a smile.
Because of the kindness people displayed to me through donating blood I have made it my mission to make giving blood through the Arkansas Blood Institute my lifelong commitment. Now, every time my high school has a blood drive with the Arkansas Blood Institute I sign up because I know there is someone out there in my community who will be receiving this blood and it will make a difference not only in their lives, but in the lives of those who love them. I am grateful for the people who granted me more time with my grandpa because they took time out of their day to give blood, and the least I can do is to spread more life and love through my community and state by the act of donation. Blood donation gave me more time with my grandpa and because of that it has forever changed my life through allowing me to better get to know the man who raised my mom, fought for his country, and loved his family deeply.