Platelets

I mentioned that I would post platelet info, so here it is. We have a friend at Dana Farber, a little boy named Benjamin who we met at CHaD, and his mom recently blogged that platelets are needed at that hospital. Platelets have a shelf life of 5 days. If you are interested in donating there, you can call 617-632-3206.

Only two first time donors will be taken at a time, and you need to answer a few minutes of questions on the phone before they give the go-ahead that someone qualifies to donate. If you qualify, they can set you up with an appointment. 1-3 in the afternoon is the best time of day for the bank to take first time donors. The process takes I believe, 2 hours, and involves a needle in both arms; one to take blood, the other to put back your own blood that has had platelets filtered out.

If you live too far away to donate in Boston, please consider donating at a hospital or Red Cross donation center near you. The Red Cross number is 1-800-GIVELIFE, and they can tell you where the nearest donation center is.

Luke Ben and I were in the house the other day, and Luke said, "Is there anyone else here?" "Nope, just the three of us." I said. Luke got teary and said, "Why not four?" He misses Paigey a lot, and said most every night for a while, "Let's talk about why Paigey died."

We begin grief counseling on Monday.

Here is one of my favorite video clips.