BLOOD FOR BLOOD: Bleeding For A Humanitarian Course.
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR OTHERS?’” — Martin Luther King Jr., civil rights leader, and Nobel Prize Winner
Life as we knew it…
The covid-19 pandemic ambushed many of us with a plethora of challenges. Like the long, unforgiving sickle of death it cut through the fibre of the global economy, terrorizing the weak and strong alike, wreaking havoc that saw the bravest among us trembling in fear. Some of the brightest minds were reduced to a level slightly below that of the dumbest kid in class whose incompetence infuriates even the most compassionate teacher.
It made a mockery our advancement as a specie, the strongest nations who boasted with astounding and unprecedented technological and medical advancement were no more useful than paper towel in pool of water across the floor. For the first time in the history of mankind, we were embarrassingly outsmarted.
But every cloud (no matter how dark) has a silver lining. In the mist of all this hullabaloo about the gruesome impact of this deadly pandemic, some of us crossed paths with life changing opportunities.
A lot of opinions that are expressed about this pandemic and the anticipation of life thereafter are all but controversial statements (at least for me), too controversial for my liking. But if there is one opinion that I strongly identify with is that long after this monstrous bully has released his merciless grip from our tiny necks, life will never be the same again. Life as we knew it, is gone!
The first time I went to the Toyota Warrior Race.
I am what you might call an ‘adrenaline junkie’, I love pushing my body to its limit. The first time I got to fully experience my unrelenting excitement for a good adrenaline rush was when I went to the Toyota Warrior Race (it was still JEEP Warrior Race then) for the first time in 2017.
It was a really demanding obstacle course (add that to the fact that I was not in my best of shapes) and boy did it tear through me and my excuse of a stamina! But I loved it, right there and then I knew that this was the best sport for me.
Fast forward to the final obstacle, it was a water jump (approximately 10 metres high) and God knows that I could not swim (and still cannot, but I am working on it, thank you for asking) to save my life. Yet exhausted and out of breath as I was, I still went for it and as the good, gracious God would have it… I drowned my soul out!
Thank God for those lifeguards.
Had I died and made it to heaven that day I am sure I would have found God standing at the Gate next to Saint Peter with His arms folded (slightly shaking His head in disappointment) waiting for me and upon arrival he would go, “Congratulations, you played yourself!”
In fact, that was not the first time that I had drowned because of a stupid ‘on the spot’ decision.
The first time I drowned was in third grade in Primary School and boy did I turn into the school’s laughingstock (I just never learn, do I?)!
Please do not take this as advice to do something dangerous and life-threatening, drowning is no laughing matter, a lot of people have died from drowning and I certainly have no intentions of doing something that stupid ever again.
I know what you might be thinking, “classic case of: ‘do as I say, not as I do’” but I really did learn my lesson. When we went for the second time in 2018 I completed every obstacle except for the last one, you guessed it, the water jump (the spectator still made me do 10 burpees for skipping an obstacle).
Even though I drowned, I still felt as great sense of fulfillment washing over me.
The Comrades’ race the legends 2020 virtual race.
I firmly believe that my obsession with a burst of adrenaline rush can be attributed to my need for power. According to Psychiatrist Dr William Glasser (met his untimely death in the year 2013, may his enlightened soul find eternal peace) all human behaviour is aimed at satisfying one of more of the basic needs: Need for love and belonging; need for power; need for survival; need for freedom and the need for fun.
All humans have the same 5 basic needs but the strength of each need differs from one person to the next (that is why we are different and behave differently) and that difference in need strengths is determined by our genetic codes.
My need for power ranks the highest (in strength) of all my basic needs. According to Choice Theory (brainchild of Dr William Glasser) Power does not necessarily refer to the typical autocratic need for dominion of one by another but rather an achievement obsession.
To be powerful is to is achieve, to be competent, to be skilled, to be recognized for our achievements and skill, to be listened to and have a sense of self-worth (William Glasser: 1998).
I am one such person, driven by an unrelenting need to achieve.
The break of the covid-19 pandemic presented me with an excellent opportunity to feed my power hunger.
With the lockdown came the ban on sports and as such big annual events such as the Comrades Marathon could not take place. A lot of people were unhappy with that (including my mentor, an avid marathoner).
As time progressed, the lockdown strict regulations eased and a few previously banned activities (such as outdoor jogging) were slowly allowed back but with certain restrictions.
With that, the Comrades Marathon organising committee announced that the annual event would be virtual this year. I was excited to learn of that because, for a year now, I have been a consistent runner with my streak currently sitting between 10–13 km every day, 5 days a week.
What more a better way for a rookie to level up, so to speak, than to participate in one of the biggest running events in the world? Add to that it was now much more accessible and cheaper for me. I quickly rushed to register for the virtual race.
There were 5 categories: the 5 km Couch2Comrades; 10 km Comrades Sprint; 21.1 km Comrades Legends Half Marathon; 45 km Half Comrades90km and the 90 km Comrades Legends Ultra (who runs such a crazy distance?).
While sizing up and weighing my options I thought to myself, “I could not possibly run 10 km, that is the distance that I run every day — no challenge at all there!” but at the same time the half-marathon was a bit intimidating.
I run at a school’s soccer field near where I live and it takes about 3 laps to complete a kilometre so 10 km is a flat 30 laps. Running 21.1 km would mean going from 30 laps to 65 laps!
‘Half marathon it is!’ I said as I completed the registration form and proceeded to make payment and submitted. Just like that, I was in. I was set to participate in my first ever comrades’ event, my very first half-marathon.
Preparing for the race was really demanding, I had three weeks to prepare for the race and it was during my mid-year exams.
The week before the race I sprained my left knee and it hurt so bad. I stopped training at all but was determined to continue (with the race), it happened on a Wednesday and the race was scheduled take place on Sunday. I thought that I would rest it off and that would do the trick, but the anguish just never went away. To its credit though it got better and much more bearable.
The day of the race came. I left home at 5am for the soccer field armed with my mom’s phone as the tracking and distance measuring device.
3 laps into the race and the knee began hurting like hell but there was no way I could stop. I kept running and the pain got worse with each lap, but I continued with unrelenting determination.
It was, for some time, somewhat bearable (courtesy of my good old buddy, adrenaline).
When I got to the 19th kilometre, however, it got worse, way worse! I was pretty much limping around the field (it must have been a funny sight for a passer-by).
I limped all the way through to the last 0.1 km and in my entire life, I had never been so pleased to hear a cyborg’s voice than in that moment when the automated lady’s voice from the Huawei running app went, ‘total distance 21.1 km, total time 2 hours and 20 minutes…’ in her Chinese accent.
I instantly went from pain to pleasure as I limped back home rushing to upload my time.
I felt a great sense of fulfillment wash over me, that dopamine secretion felt like a pat in the back by the creator Himself. I loved it and I wanted more of it.
How I became a blood donor.
That is when the, “so, what’s next?” question slapped me out of my fluffy cloud of self-fulfillment, a slap I know all too well.
This time, though, it was different.
It came with a strong yet gentle need to pursue something more on the humanitarian side. It was as though someone had gently whispered, “figure out what you can do for the next person” to my ear.
“But what?” I pondered. I was conflicted. I wanted to do something, I just did not know what.
I remembered my mentor (Moeketsi Mazibuko, a really generous giver) who always (and passionately) says that anyone can give or do something to contribute to the betterment of the next person, regardless of your financial status, level of education or anything else for that matter.
I started thinking about my health.
I am one of those, ‘I just never get sick, Trevor!’ people. I only get sick during the flu season, a bit of a cough here, tiny sneeze over there and runny nose in between (with that annoying nasal voice) and that is it! School out for me, next year same time, same place!
21 years of age and the only time I have been admitted to a hospital was the day I was born. Never suffered any grievous bodily harm nor involved in any major accident.
I realised then and there that I was lucky. It is so easy to underestimate this because there are quite a few of us who are in good health but in a world where a mild headache and simple cough are enough to have people gathering on a weekend dressed mostly in black to bid farewell to a loved one, I was lucky. I am lucky!
Right there and then I realised that I have the gift of good health in abundance and I wanted to share it with anyone in need.
At that moment, right there and then it hit me: BLOOD DONATION.
It made sense, I had a healthy body well and capable of producing blood as and when the need arose — there are people who need blood to survive every day. Match us up and let us get merry!
The following day I went to the mall to get some supplies and as if fate had it written in the fabric of all existence, the people from SANBS (South African Blood Services) were there.
You should have seen me charging forward to where they had parked and set up to receive donors, completely disregarding what I had come to do.
I arrived there and greeted the gentleman and who was already standing looking directly at me with a smile as though to say, ‘we have been expecting you’.
He greeted me back in the most welcoming tone and proceeded to ask me whether I had received ‘the’ sms (all donors receive smses to remind them of their appointment with the good vampire) I said and no and explained that I was a first time donor to which he responded by asking whether I had already had breakfast because it was still in the morning and it is mandatory for all donors to eat a full and balanced meal before commencing the process of donation, (bro! by the time you seat for your breakfast I have already partook of 3 meals going to my 4th) I agreed and he had me fill out some forms and passed me on to another kind sister (nurse).
She took my blood pressure and checked my haemoglobin (iron) levels and it was Greenlight.
The kind sister pointed me to a pair of nice and comfortable looking chairs with armrests, each chair with a single armrest on either left or the right side (choose your poison).
I took the chair with the left armrest since my left arm is my weakest (yeah that is what you get you weakling!).
It goes without saying that I need my right arm to get around thus, I cannot afford to have it inactive (rule of thumb: no heavy lifting on the hand that underwent blood suction).
Another friendly sister came along, she was the one who would facilitate the whole process.
She proceeded to tightly fasten my left bicep to expose the vein in the elbow region where the suction pipe would be connected. Before attaching the needle to my vein, she asked me to look away because, ‘a lot of first timers see the size of the needle and panic’.
I obliged and looked away, next thing I felt was the pinch of the needle penetrating my vein, slightly uncomfortable but not a bit as painful as I thought it would be (a bit too painless if you ask me).
What happened next was pure magic!
With every suction I felt an even greater sense of fulfillment.
Pump after pump of that beautiful, precious, and deep-red life bearing liquid (into the blood bag) was matched with a proportional dose of fulfillment bursting out of every bit of my being.
I was happy, fulfilled, at peace and one with the universe.
At that moment I was up high with the stars in the milky way, digging deep into the surface of the Earth alongside the earthworms, I was deep in the quiet oceans with the whales and blowing with the wind at the top of Mount Everest.
It was a splash of emotions, I felt like I had done something that really mattered for the first time.
Such is the power of giving.
Road to 1 000 lives!
I have donated twice already, and the second time was even more fulfilling than the first time. It was so fulfilling that having to wait for 56 days just donate again is torturous, I want to donate every single day!
That is how fulfillingly addictive it is. Dr William Glasser calls this positive addiction.
With every donation one gets to save 3 lives (imagine that!).
Inspired by this fact and the fulfillment I got from the whole process I decided to set a goal for myself and my newly found humanitarian commitment. Throughout my life I want to help save at least 1 000 lives.
I did my calculations and for that to happen I have to commit the next 56 years of my life to first being alive and healthy and then donate consistently (and I will do everything I can to preserve my life that long).
With this commitment, I accept the responsibility that my life is no longer just my own but a gift to be shared with all those people who are in constant need for blood.
I cannot afford to and will not be selfish about it. I am committing to a life of healthy living not just physical health but mental, emotional and every other sphere of life.
Committing to a humanitarian course has prompted me to pursue a fulfilling life and aspire to make the most of my meagre existence.
That is why I wrote this ridiculously long article.
Blessed is the hand that gives.
When I began writing this article I had one goal and that was to convince as many people as possible to consider signing up as blood donors so as to help those in need and for all those who are interested please click on this link:
to visit the SANBS website and find out how you can initiate the process. You may also get in touch with me and I will help wherever possible.
But now I feel that I should also use this platform to shed light on the importance and the true power of giving (something that my mentor passionately teaches about).
Giving can be the gateway to one’s success.
In a study published in the USA it was found that people who volunteered between 100–300 hours each year attested to leading happier and more fulfilling lives.
In a different study that sought to test the relationship between income and charitable giving in the USA, Arthur Books (an Economist), found that for every $1 spent in extra charitable giving, income grew by $3.75 (Adam Grant: 2013).
In the book: Give and Take Adam Grant argues that giving can be a way of attaining success in all spheres of lives in including financial. It shines a different light to how we perceive life, success and giving.
‘When the student is ready, the teacher shall appear.’ — Lao Tzu
I am not a religious nor a very spiritual person but what if, just what if the Gods sent us this pandemic as a way to remind us to care for one and another give to those who stand to benefit greatly from our efforts?
What if this pandemic is a way of reminding us of the true values of life, that we stand a better chance of prospering if we pull together than in different directions?
What if covid-19 is a reminder that we are better caring for those around us as we do ourselves because we, too, stand to benefit a great deal?
‘Love thy neighbour as you love thyself.’
Need I say more?
Standing ovation to all the self-less givers.
Homage to all the healthcare workers who sacrificed their health and time with their loved ones to help all those who are in distress during this pandemic.
Respect to all the courageous men and women who open their homes to cater for all those who are homeless with no mommy nor daddy to cry to.
Asante sana to all the hard workers who endure ungodly hours of hard labour and still sacrifice their humble wages to feed the hungry, sick, old, and frail.
Your brave actions go unnoticed every day, but you are all pillars of mankind.
May we be reminded that the little we can do may be all the difference to the next person.
The little that you can give could go a long way in making someone’s day that much better.
Maybe God allowed us to go through these trying times so that we may be reminded just how blessed and lucky we are to enjoy good health, have rooves over our heads with full stomachs and warm blankets to protect us from the winter colds.
The least we could do is to give the little that we can and help make life slightly better for the next person.
Pay it forward!
Inspirational word from the Rookie:
Pronia — the delusional belief that other people are plotting your well-being, or saying nice things about you behind your back.
Antonym: Paranoia
Only true givers get to experience pronia.
Thank you for reading.
Disclaimer:
I am not in any way affiliated with the authors and/or organisations that I have mentioned in this article. If you follow any of the links embedded or purchase any of their products, I will not be getting any commission(s).
