By Terri Seydel
It wasn’t until Bucks County resident Sue Lowenstein found herself alone in a Colorado emergency room, watching her husband fight for his life, that she fully understood the impact blood donors have on another person’s life.
Sue recalls watching helplessly as the hospital staff administered one unit at a time while rushing to save her husband’s life due to a severe gastrointestinal bleed. In all, it took 5 units of blood and intensive care over the span of about nine days to stabilize and save her husband, who goes by “Fish.”
As the severity of the situation became clear, Sue realized that she would have lost Fish if that blood had not been immediately available when her husband needed it.
“The hospital caregivers were amazing, but it was the blood donors that actually saved his life.”
Blood donation was a habit that Sue began during her college years as a pediatric physical therapy student. At the time, she knew donating was important but had not understood much about the testing and distribution process.
Many years later, during this emergency while on a vacation with their family in Colorado, she became fully aware of how precious a pint of blood truly is as she witnessed the care and handling firsthand.
Feeling helpless and alone, Sue watched as each unit was received by her husband’s critical care team. Nurses worked as a team to verify the match between the blood and the recipient. After multiple verifications, the nursing supervisor unlocked the carrier and released the blood for use. Sue couldn’t help but fully appreciate the security measures used to protect both her husband and the donor’s blood.
It’s been many years since that emergency in Colorado, and Fish’s medical condition is now well controlled. That experience has inspired Sue and their oldest daughter to continue donating in his honor and in hopes of saving other people’s lives.
Sue often encourages others to consider donating blood. It’s easy to schedule the hour-long appointment for a relatively painless process. Sue also appreciates the Red Cross communication telling her which facility has received her donated blood. This knowledge often provides an emotional connection between blood donors and the community they’ve helped.
“A pint of blood and [an hour] of your time can literally save the life of a 45-year-old father of three.”
Red Cross Blood Shortage
The American Red Cross is experiencing a national blood shortage. Fewer donors than needed gave blood this summer, drawing down the national blood supply and reducing distributions of some of the most needed blood types to hospitals. Donors of all blood types are urgently needed, and there’s an emergency need for type O blood donors, as well as platelet donors. More donors are needed now to ensure patients at hospitals across the country continue to receive critical medical care. Schedule an appointment to give by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
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My husband and I appreciate, from the bottom of our hearts the care that Fish received out in Colorado when he had the major GI bleed. We were helpless, being miles and miles away. Our prayers were answered though, he came through that scare and now is under the care of good doctors in the area where ;he resides.