Ten years ago my dad nearly died at the age of 48 from a brain aneurysm. He was in the Neuro ICU for 6 weeks and in the hospital for a total of 3 months. He had five major surgeries and was given a total of 13 units of blood.

I'm so thankful for modern medicine. And I'm eternally grateful to the 13 people who took time to donate the blood that meant life for my dad.

Since then, I've made it my mission to replace that blood. I figure it's the least I can do. And really, it's a fairly easy way to give. When I started my most recent list of 101 goals to complete in 1001 days back in March of 2010, I included goal #28 -- Donate blood at least twice a year. I'm excited to report that today, I can check that goal off my list!
I've given blood twice a year for each of the past three years, and I can prove it:
Even though I've checked this goal off my list, I plan to keep at it. If you live in the Phoenix area, I'm on the hunt for a blood-giving buddy. My friends Matt & Shar (pictured above) used to go with me before they were disqualified for life for being druggies. Haha -- they aren't really, it was a dumb technicality. SO...I've been a loner for awhile. Hit me up in the comments if you want to sign up for "blood & lunch" as we like to call it :).

And if you are thinking you might want to start giving blood, check out the United Blood Services website for a donation center near you. It's super-easy to make an appointment in minutes online!
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