Priceless Plasma...

--September 2, 2008--

It's pretty much just a known fact that couples that are "newly married" are poor...it's inevitable. So try as you may...it's going to happen...one minute you're on top of the world, and the next you're doing everything just to keep your head above water. In the fall of 2008 I was working 1 full time job with 2 part time jobs on the side. Jeremy was currently unemployed and applying for just about every job that showed up on 'Yahoo Hot Jobs'. Making ends meet was proving to be difficult and so I began to think of other ways that I could bring in a little extra change. I remembered a time that I donated plasma up in Salt Lake a few years back. They didn't pay much, but it was something. I searched for a plasma center here in Utah County and found one that wasn't too far from home. It was a done deal! I'd be going there on my next day off...

(September 2, 2008....my day off)
So I got up and got ready for the day, just like any other day, nothing special. I wasn't looking forward to the wait at the plasma center because there was a lot of paperwork to fill out. I made sure to eat a good breakfast just as they had asked me to and I drove up to the center. After finally finishing the paperwork and waiting for a while, I was called back to have a simple physical done just so that they could look me over and make sure that I was ready to donate. By this point in time I had been at the center for nearly 2 hours and they gave me a cup of noodles to eat before going in...just to make sure that I had enough in me. And then I went back to donate...

Donating wasn't too bad...it was cold in the back room and I wasn't as comfortable as I would've liked to have been, but I lived with it. It lasted about an hour, maybe a little longer, and then it was all over. They had me sit in the seat for about 10 minutes before going anywhere, and then I got my payment and I was on my way. While walking out to my car I called Jeremy (who was at home doing homework) to let him know that I was done and I was on my way home. When I got out to my car I started to feel a little nauseated, so I sat in my car for a minute before driving anywhere and just talked with Jeremy. I didn't get more than a block away from the plasma center before I was almost positive that I was going to puke and I needed to pull over. I told Jeremy that I was pulling over at the Burger King and he told me to wait there and he'd be there to get me.

In an attempt to keep my dignity I pulled to the very back of the parking lot so that I could just open my door and throw up out the side. As I sat there with my head hanging out of my door I realized that this would just not do...and I needed to go in the Burger King and visit their bathroom. I'm sure that everyone has experienced what it's like to have a really upset stomach and not know whether they're going to throw up or totally empty their guts out their "other end". I HAD to go inside! So I made my journey from the back of the parking lot up to their entrance and went inside. I was so exhausted...I had to stop and gather myself and take a breath or two. So I leaned against the window to take a break...

Next thing I know I'm opening my eyes and I'm confused. I'm staring at a ceiling and I can hear some voices in the background. After I realized what had happened the first thing I thought was, 'I hope I didn't just crap myself!'. I felt mangled and sore and I felt like I couldn't move. I began to call for help and after calling a couple of times I heard someone in the background yell that 'a girl is on the floor back there!'. People came rushing to my side trying to figure out what had happened. I told them that I wasn't feeling well and that I had just donated plasma. One of the workers there was on the line with 911 and I kept going in and out. I don't remember much of what happened after people found me. My phone rang and someone else answered it. It was Jeremy trying to figure out if I was ok because he had just pulled in the parking lot about the same time that the ambulance arrived. I remember very little of what happened at the Burger King after that.

When I woke up again I was laying in an ambulance that was taking me to the Timpanogos Regional Hospital. I was scared because I didn't see Jeremy with me, but the man that was riding with me told me that he was following us in the car. I felt really tired and out of it and it seemed like I kept falling asleep. When we got to the emergency room they put in an IV and started me on some fluids. I called my mom and told her what had happened and she showed up not too long afterwards. We probably spent just over an hour in the emergency room before they discharged me to go home. My mom followed us to the house and then took Jeremy to go pick up my car that was still at the Burger King.

I spent the rest of the day in bed sick. Every time I moved I thought I was going to throw up. Needless to say I was banned from donating plasma (by Jeremy of course) and the small amount of money that I did get from donating was nothing compared to the bills that came from it!