BLOOD DRIVES

My classmate, Misty Heflin posted this on myspace today, just wanted to pass this along in any way possible.
JSU Blood Drive Wednesday - 10/29/08 - 10:30am - 4:00pm in the Theron Montgomery building.
Monster fest - Oxford Mall.Thursday & Friday 10/30/08 - 10/31/08 -10am-8pm.
Compassion Blood Drive in Memory of Mikey Heflin - AU/UA blood drive coming up on November 14.the Holiday Inn Express on Hwy 119, Pelham.PLEASE GIVE BLOOD.
While my wonderful Husband, was in the hospital for his Bone Marrow Transplant, he was the recipient of 92units of Whole blood and that is not even counting Platelet transfusions.
Platelets - help the blood clot.
If the number of platelets is too low, excessive bleeding can occur.Mikey had a Platelet count of 2000 on April 9th. Normal range - 150,000 - 450,000. Yes 2000 is DANGEROUSLY LOW.He was a recipient of 102units of Platelet transfusions‘.Most of my my spacer friends had the pleasure of knowing Mikey, very well and knew he was probably the most unselfish guy you could meet. He would give you his shirt off his back to a perfect stranger just to help them out. Mikey and I gave blood together, he talked me into it too, I have gave blood, every opportunity, just did not like them digging in my no Vein arms, but I would gladly give especially for the instant gratification. Speaking of Veins, Mikey had to have a Hickman Catheter for the weeks of High-Dose Chemo treatments, Blood Transfusions, IV-Drugs, and of course the Bone Marrow Transplant.I am Honoring Mikey in his Memory, with the Compassion blood drive. If you knew Mikey, he would want the blood and platelets, that was generously given to him, given back to people who gave freely. I am hoping with this Blood Drive being Annually the units of Blood given will triple each year.There were many days and nights, Mikey had to wait for blood and platelets. Post Transplant, while his blood type was changing to his donor (brother Andy) type, he would wait for hours upon hours for his blood to come in from various blood banks, since his blood had to be irradiated and CMV negative.Hickman Catheter - insertion of a Hickman line is usually done under sedation or a general anesthetic by a radiologist or surgeon. It involves two incisions, one at the jugular vein or another nearby vein or groove, and one on the chest wall.Irradiated - Blood and blood product irradiation will prevent PT-GVHD.Post-Transfusion - Graft Verses Host Disease - is one of the most severe side-effects of blood transfusion and Bone Marrow Transplants.
CMV Negative - Cytomegalovirus is a common virus carried by more than half of the population. Most people who have the virus never know it and for the average healthy person, CMV does not cause a problem. However, for patients whose immune systems are not functioning properly(premature babies, cancer patients and others who cannot fight infection), CMV can be very serious.Now that I have informed you about blood, platelets and life after a Bone Marrow Transplant. I encourage each and everyone to PLEASE GIVE BLOOD. If you cannot work around these dates and location, please visit your local Red Cross and give blood.I will be on sports talk station WJOX 690AM & WJOX 94.5FM, the week of the Blood Drive, that is November 14th. To tell Mikey's story and maybe touch a lot of giving heart s to come join us at the blood drive. Mikey was a HUGE Alabama fan and I am a HUGE Auburn fan, so sweet, right? =) Red Cross is giving out some cool t-shirts and of course some Iron Bowl tickets.That would be neat to win, Right? 10 Facts about blood needs1. Every two seconds someone in the U.S.needs blood 2.More than 38,000 blood donations are needed every day 3.One out of every 10 people admitted in a hospital needs blood 4.Total blood transfusions in a given year: 14 million 5.The average red blood cell transfusion is approximately 3 pints 6.The blood type most often requested by hospitals is Type O 7.The blood used in an emergency is already on the shelves before the event occurs 8. Sickle cell disease affects more than 80,000 people in the U.S., 98% of whom are African American.Sickle cell patients can require frequent blood transfusions throughout their lives 9. More than 1 million new people are diagnosed with cancer each year. Many of them will need blood, sometimes daily, during their chemotherapy treatment.10. A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 units of blood.Facts about blood and its componentsWhole blood can be processed into red cells, platelets, plasma, and cryoprecipitate.The total number of units of all of these components transfused in a year is 29 million It is possible to donate specifically only platelets or plasma.This process is called apheresis Most donated red blood cells must be used within 42 days of collection Donated platelets must be used within 5 days of collection — new donations are constantly needed Healthy bone marrow makes a constant supply of red cells, plasma and platelets.The body will replenish the elements given during a blood donation - some in a matter of hours, and others in a matter of weeks I know this was a lot of information to read, but most people take hours to do bulletins with questions, like What are you listening to ? ? ? I appreciate you, for taking the time to read this and PLEASE GIVE LIFE.Please Repost Bulletin...THANKS AGAIN!

Haunted Places

With Halloween just around the corner, I thought I'd look up some supposedly "haunted" places. I was listening to the Steve & Carl show on K98 like I do every morning and they were talking about some "hauntings" around here. It got me inspired to do a little research of my own. I've included some links.

http://theshadowlands.net/places/alabama.htm
Who knows if any of these are true, but they are fun, right?

http://hauntsofamerica.blogspot.com/2008/01/haunting-of-maumee-bay-brewing-company.html
Click to see all of the eerie pictures!

Just thought this was fun for Halloween! =)

The Common Cold

I wrote this a couple of weeks ago..just forgot to actually post it!


Well, as luck would have it, this is my 2nd cold in 3 weeks! I hate having a cold, SO annoying and it seems to drag out for so long. Well, I was researching "cures for the common cold" to try and find some relief. I came upon some interesting things that I didn't know.

1) Being "cold" doesn't actually cause a cold. Not wearing jacket when it's chilly out or sleeping in a draft do not cause colds. The actual cause are rhinoviruses that are invisible droplets in the air that we breathe in, or on surfaces that we touch.

2) Colds are most contagious during the 2 to 4 days after symptoms appear, but can be contagious up to 3 WEEKS (even when there are no symptoms!)

3) Medicine can't cure the common cold. They can relieve some symptoms, but they can't actually CURE the cold.

4) Chicken soup contains a mucus-thinning amino acid called cysteine, and some research shows that chicken soup helps control congestion-causing white cells, called neutrophils.