"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." Winston Churchill

Dona is a woman I have grown up with and known for many years. She is another Mom to me. Her four kids and my sister and I, all spent many summers and spring breaks together laughing, sun burning and sleeping on lumpy couches. They are all my family. Within the last year Dona was diagnosed with a very rare form of leukemia. The Doctors were shocked they even caught it. Fortunately for Dona, and some radical chemo, they have gotten a hold on this little hitch hiker. Even luckier for Dona, they found her a ten point donor match. That's pretty crazy and lucky especially since her own siblings were not a match.

I am deathly afraid of needles. (This loops back to Dona, I promise. This is not an "Erin" moment.) The thought of them induces a panic attack and I almost never electively have anything injected in to myself. However, I was thinking yesterday as Dona was preparing for her transfusion, how I would feel in her shoes. I would be so happy to have a donor. I am not someone who donates blood due to the aforementioned needle fear, but I would of course want a transfusion to save my life if ever I needed one. This brought to my mind the idea of, you get what you give. How could I pray for a donor when I do not donate myself? Now, I understand not everyone can donate due to actual reasons (prescription meds for example) but mine seems pretty trivial when compared to those. So, my goal for this year is to start donating blood. I have a universal blood type, it should be my duty and honor to donate. I should suck it up knowing that whoever or wherever my blood goes - that person who needs it is in more pain than I am when they prick me with a needle. This is going to take a lot of bravery on my part but I think I can do it. Wish me luck!