Fingerprints

Dear Grandma,

I donated platelets the other day. It's like giving blood except that they separate the platelets from the blood, then put your blood back in your body. It's pretty amazing how they can do that. They use something called anticoagulants to separate the two. It made my lips and fingertips tingle, so that felt strange.

I have small veins, and some technicians can't find them. So the girl who stuck me put a heating pad under my arm, because heat makes veins expand slightly. Then she draped an electric blanket over me. With a needle in my arm, hooked up to a machine, and a blanket covering me, I felt as though I was in a hospital bed. Except that I've never had to stay at the hospital.

Apparently I have a high platelet count (good to know, I suppose), so I was able to give a double donation. It took two and a half hours and my arm became hot and sore but it was worth it. The technician told me that some cancer patients doing chemotherapy use two donations of platelets a day, so it's often in high demand. That's when I thought of you.

I've always regretted not spending more time with you when you were in the hospital having chemo treatments. I was a teenager at the time, all bundled up in self-focus, and honestly the thought of being with you in the hospital never crossed my mind. I will always, always remember standing beside you and facing your vanity mirror as you took off your hat and showed me what it looks like when someone looses all their hair while in their sixties. If I could go back in time and do things over again, I would have spent time with you as you did the chemo that made you loose your hair, instead of just seeing you afterwards, on days that maybe you felt a little more human. I can't imagine what all that was like. 

I wish you could have been there for my sister's wedding, and to see where God has led my life, and just in general. Yet every life touches others with fingerprints that never really leave. Thank you for your fingerprints. You've given me a reason to donate platelets, and to be more thoughtful for things others might appreciate when they are going through difficult times. I know that you are in heaven and I love that. I'll see you there someday. I know it.

Your granddaughter, always, with love ...