Blood, sweat and tears

June 14th is World Blood Donor day... did you know? The employees at the donation center didn't til they walked in today. I passed on donating at work last week, so I stopped by tonight on my way home.

Like everyone else, every time I give, I get to answer the same questions from the last donation:

Have you ever had a transplant?
Have you had a tattoo in the last 12 months?
And, then there's the questions of what your partner or former partners did before meeting you.

But, tonight, as I was clicking through the self assessment (always hoping to get the "right" answer), I saw a new one. Right after "have you ever been diagnosed with Hepatitis," there it was... Have you ever been diagnosed with Babesiosis? I read it quickly and erroneously as Babeosis (pronounced, in my imagination, Babe O sis). And, then followed that with my own questions:

What, exactly, are the symptoms of Babeosis?
And, Just how many opinions must you receive to be officially diagnosed with it?

I quickly decided I had been infected... because, of course, I'm awesome.

So, a few minutes later when Prem, the Red Cross associate taking my vitals, sat down, I asked him... "What is Babeosis?"

Prem, in his nicest, educated, somewhat condescending tone, corrected me... Babesiosis (correctly pronounced Bobby see o sis) is a parasitic disease much like Malaria, but spread by ticks.

It took no more than that description... I am cured!