Health Havoc
Does anyone else have a body with a wicked sense of timing?
It's almost hilarious by now, the way I can almost predict that my "time of the month" will make an appearance exactly when I don't want it too. And how headaches love to appear on vacation (or the stomach flu).
I guess if I'm honest there really is no good time for a heavy period day or the stomach flu. But my body seems to take perverse pleasure in choosing days that make for extra inconvenience.
On that same note, I've learned that there is almost no point in signing up for a blood drive. Inevitably, if I show up to donate blood I will get sick. Either right before or right after. (And the few times I have been able to donate, I ended up sick from donating. You know, that girl they won't let out of the chair for fear she is going to faint or throw up? Yeah, that's me.) But this month our stake had a sponsored blood drive, and I thought, "It's July. I'm not going to get sick. Plus, for once I won't try to run 6 miles on the same day as donating blood, so surely I won't be woozy afterward!" (Um. Yes. I have been that stupid. Don't ask.) My own life was once saved by donated blood so I feel like I should try and return the favor.
Wouldn't you know it? Right after I signed up I got the sniffles. But it was still three weeks until the blood drive, and I figured that it was a mild little cold that would surely be gone by the time my appointment rolled around.
I waited. And waited. Every time I thought I was in the clear, my nose would run again. Not a lot. Just enough to remind me that I wasn't in peachy-perfect health. Terence even suggested it could be allergies.
I gave it all the way until 48 hours before, and then reluctantly cancelled my appointment. It's a good thing I did. My minor nose running has morphed into a full-fledged sore throat. *sigh* I know I have a serious aversion to needles-- is it possible to subconsciously give yourself a sore throat to get out of donating blood??
On a more serious note, this week has been hard in the health challenge department. Too much cancer. Not me, but people I care about. Two hundred years ago, people had to watch their loved ones waste away to consumption. Now our equivalent is cancer. Often slow (but not always) and attacking the people you least expect.
I wish we had a miracle cure.
However, I refuse to sit and mope about it. Some people are taking their challenges and doing great things to overcome it and make lives better for other people. My brother-in-law, who has stage four melanoma, has started a foundation to combat this deadly skin cancer. And it's not just about educating people. They recently bought a bus, drove it from New Jersey to California, and are now in the process of outfitting it into a mobile clinic for skin screenings. Please check it out, and donate if you can! This is one of those grassroots efforts that really has a chance to make a difference!
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