“There’s
a first time for everything,” we all have heard and used this line. And
although not all first times are nice experiences, like the first time you fell
down the stairs, or the first time you slept in the bus with your mouth open,
or maybe the first time your skirt got stuck in your undergarments after you
went to the rest room. Haha! Those would have really sucked. But then again,
there are first times that are worth remembering; your first time in a foreign
country, the first time you performed on stage, you’re first bouquet of
flowers, your first kiss... we can go on forever.
Funny
enough, most times, we have the power to allow a “first” to happen. However,
not many of us may be courageous enough to let “first times” happen, not many
will face their fears, and not many will let a new experience come their way.
And we are proud to say that we do not belong to that group (at least not so
much). Just recently, we both faced our fears, and let a new “first time”
happen.
The first time I lost so much blood ;) – A
I
have always wanted to donate blood, and have also always chickened out once the
opportunity is there. I don’t like needles. Oh wait, that's an understatement.
I HATE NEEDLES. I have always had shots when I was younger until I was a teenager,
but none of those vaccinations helped in reducing my fear of being poked with a
pointed metal. I even recall nearly crying on my medical examination for the
completion of requirements for my second job. Yes, you read that right; second
job. I’m all grown up but I still have not gotten over the fear. And you know
what scares me more than injections? Bigger injections! Just the thought of it
weakens my knees. But last weekend, I faced that fear.
There
was an announcement about a blood donation drive in church two Sundays ago. The
idea thrilled and scared the crap out of me at the same time. Like I said,
donating blood is something I have always wanted to do, but just cannot go
through with it. So to cut it a bit short, I, together with my boyfriend, signed
up for the blood drive. We slept early the night before the day of donation and
we made sure that we're early in church the following day. After getting to the
venue of the blood drive, we just immediately registered our names and
identification numbers, and went ahead with answering the questionnaire
provided to us. And then after the screening with the doctor and testing
my iron level, I was given news that made my hands really cold; I passed the
screening, and I can donate blood. I was asked to lie down on one of the beds,
and was told to relax. So I layed myself down and tried to relax while sharing
to the nurse that was assisting me how nervous I was because that was my first
time. She tried to comfort me and convinced me that it is all for a good cause.
She even told me that unlike in the Philippines, they give a shot of
anaesthesia first before injecting the needle that will help draw blood
out. It was like music to my ears, but my boyfriend thought it's pointless. He
said why would anyone choose to be poked twice when he/she can just do it in
one shot. But yeah, who cares what my boyfriend thinks? Haha! I was handed a
red stress ball and was asked to tightly squeeze it as the nurse injected the
anaesthesia. I remember the pain and how scared I was. A few minutes after the
anaesthesia injection, the nurse told me she was already going to inject the
needle for taking blood. I took a deep breath, and tried to hold it until she
said it was done, and before I knew it, she had the needle already inside. I
felt nothing. I was happy. Then they connected a tube and hanged an empty
"blood bag" at the side of my bed. After everything was set up, I was
asked to "squeeze and let go" of the stress ball until I finish
filling the bag. By that time, all my fear was gone. I was happy I got over all
the poking, and I was excited to finish with the whole process.
I filled my bag quite fast, but that came with a price. Not long after they took my blood bag, I became very dizzy and felt like I was going to throw up. The lady on my right who passed out didn't help in making me feel better. One of the nurses and the doctor assigned there attended to me and positioned my feet on a level higher than my heart to help the blood go to my brain. So yes, needless to say, I was okay after a couple of minutes. We went to the refreshments area and tried to replace the fluid taken out form us with some cold chocolate drink and some biscuits. It felt really nice to have finished the process... ALIVE. Haha!
On the process of screening, I was asked if it was my first time to donate blood, and after I said yes, the lady who attended to me gave me a round pin that says, "Please be gentle with me," I think it is their way to easily recognize which ones they would need to spend more time with when it comes to briefing what to expect on the whole process. Another pin was given to us upon signing up for the blood donation drive; it was that lovely droplet-looking pin at the lower right of the photo. And of course, the stress ball that I squeezed repeatedly while having blood drawn out of my body.
The feeling was priceless. Not only did I face my fear, but I through it, I now have the chance to help save a life. How's that for hitting two birds with one stone? Now I know that I can get over fear with my fear of needles. What I needed was just some encouragement and a good reason to be poked.
Oh btw, I found out my blood type is B+. Anyone in need of that kind of blood? :D
The first out of body experience ;) - J
Last month my very nice cousin, Ate PX, treated us to Enchanted Kingdom (an amusement park in the Philippines). A week before going to EK, my kuya Lean and ate Vivian kept on daring me to go on this new ride called EK-streme, which is an extremely scary ride as the name clearly states! I said that I would never do it because I am too scared, though riding the space shuttle or going on to any ride to that extent is part of my bucket list and my resolution for this year. It's kinda symbolic for me as well, because it's really about conquering my fears. And then, we went on the whole day riding the usual stuff; Rialto, Roller Skates (like a caterpillar or the roller coaster ride but without the hoops, it's a children's ride, really. LOL.), bump cars, my favorite Flying Fiesta, Rio Grande Rapids, and all that stuff.
And then, the night time came and while we're waiting for the fireworks display and my cousins, kuya Lean and ate Vivian, were still daring me to go on EK-streme. I was really thinking about it then, but I was still really scared and then I said I'll just ride this quite scary ride called Disk-O-Magic, which is basically a disk, where the people will sit on the edge facing outward and then it will spin while slowly going up and down the tracks (See video below.)
That ride was so exhilarating! My adrenaline just went swooshing in!! By the time the ride was done I told my other cousin, Girlie, who was really eager to ride EK-streme that I will go with her! I just felt so nice after that Disk-O-magic ride that if I stopped for a even a minute, I will lose my strength again. I was really ready to conquer my fears. So, my other cousins along with my father, aunts and uncle cheered us on as we walk to our next ride, the EK-streme!!
So, when we get there, there was no line at all!! I never saw a line there since we arrived that afternoon. So we were immediately strapped in. This ride is just basically me sitting with my feet hanging out and with a loose protective stopper across my chest, you know the one you pull down so it goes from your shoulder up to your belly, and then it was attached to a buckle in between my legs. We were pulled up this very high pole, which I believe is higher than the Space Shuttle's highest point, and then when the top was reached, it was detached from whatever was holding the seats up and then free fall! I felt my legs go up and my bum slightly lifted while my face kinda felt numb from the pressure!! It was like my soul left my body for a moment! It then slowed down a little after the halfway point until we were safely back on the ground, and yes, my soul returned to my human body. Haha!! I can't even remember if I screamed while we're on our way down or not. I just went blank, really! It was just like a 10-second fall and then around 30 seconds going up. to view the ride, see the video below. I was the one wearing the printed black and white leggings screaming for her life!
When it was time to alight that life-defying ride, I really couldn't stand up immediately. I remember my cousins giving me a hand so I could stand up. I was like in a daze after that, I remember being teary-eyed and just so happy that was over. Haha! it was really fun, though! And, I conquered my fear that day, and checked another one off my bucket list ;) And, oh! of course I bought this shirt that said 'I did it!' beside a picture of the ride and I am wearing it very proudly!
Next time we will do it Fear Factor Style. Who knows, the next time may be bungee jumping or eating bugs or... who knows? Haha! We will soon try some more first times, and we will survive, we're sure of that. Because evidently, fear is not a factor for us. (Thanks, Joe Rogan.) :D
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