4/17/07 Speech to Blood Donors
In the winter of ‘07, Inova Blood Donor Services asked me to give a talk at their dinners which they have once a year to honor individuals who have given large amounts of blood products. There were several hundred people over three nights which was quite a sight! I wish you could see the room I was looking at when I gave the talk…I never would have known that so many people make it a part of their schedule to donate blood, platelets and plasma to people whom they never met. I feel like it was one of my very special moments as a cancer survivor, because I actually got to thank people who helped me get through treatment, and they didn’t even know it! I gave them a face and a story to think of so they know what their selflessness does for others. It was quite therapeutic to write the speech, and even more so to get up there and give it. I met many, many wonderful people those three evenings in April, and I will never forget the experience.
