A Surprise Email

I remain a bit appalled about the amount of spam mail being captured in my spam mail folder, and I do appreciate that it catches about 98% of it It has, on rare occasion, captured something that was not spam, however, and so I always peruse the list before deleting the whole group. For at least the last two weeks, I have gotten at least one spam mail daily telling me, “Congratulations, Lowes shopper, you have won…”. I can’t tell you exactly the last time I was in a Lowes’ store, but I know it has been at least 8 years. Honestly, some days the count of mail pieces in my spam mail is higher than the count of incoming pieces in my incoming mail box. I mean, I’ve noticed over the past few years that spam mail increases from February through April – intent on hitting those people who have filed their taxes and have either have gotten, or will be getting, a refund. But with the filing date moved months ahead because of COVID-19, is it going to continue that long?

But, I got an email this week that actually surprised me! It reads like this:

Dear Jody, Thank you for giving blood with the American Red Cross on March 9, 2020. After first ensuring that local needs were met, your blood donation was sent to St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic, NJ to help a patient in need. Your donation is on its way to change lives!

I’ve been donating blood for quite a few years, and this is the first time I’ve ever received something like this! If you read/remember my blog entry on Happy versus Joy, then you might understand that amount of joy that wrapped around me by reading this!

Chances are you’ve seen some kind of advertisement about donating blood being more important now than ever. Every security is already in place for them – masks and gloves and even a shield now when they do your finger stick – so things are as sanitized as they’ve always been. Wearing a mask is advised, simply because of other donors in the same waiting area, although they may have found ways to separate that as well by now.

Yesterday marked 30 days since my donation, so I have to wait another 26 days before I can donate again. But I have the link bookmarked and check it several times a week to see if something in my area comes up that fits after my 56 days are up.

However, before everyone starts thinking I’m selfless, I donate blood for a very selfish reason. I have a disease called Polycythemia vera (POL-e-si-THEE-me-ah VAY-rah or VE-rah). PV is a rare blood disease in which your body makes too many red blood cells. The extra red blood cells make your blood thicker than normal. As a result, blood clots can form more easily. There is no cure for PV as a disease itself, and the only way to drop the number of red blood cells in your system is with the ‘letting’ of blood.

But still, while done for selfish reasons, the email really made a difference on my perception of how selfish I am about it. Now all I can do is hope that I get more emails like this in the future!

Meanwhile, in this already life-changing time, if you are physically able, think about donating your blood. The possibility that it will be used may be a long shot, but you’ll feel better knowing that you did your part!