The prominently displayed color red during December is equated with rich holiday spirit, its hues associated with Santa Claus, Christmas stockings, Christmas tree decor, and gift wrap bows. In December, it seems as if red is everywhere.
A different use of the color red occurs during January, a month whose feel, in contrast, is associated with white – devoid of the colors of holidays, yet still replete with snow. The red of January is not holiday-spirit rich but rather oxygen rich; the life-giving juice flowing in almost every living being on Earth. You guessed it: Blood. January, it turns out, is National Blood Donor Month.
Prior to arrival at Rockaway Care Center for recovery or long term care, many Rockaway Care Center residents were grateful recipients of blood donations. You, or people you know, might owe their lives to a special someone who took out 20 minutes one day, sat back, got pricked, and donated a pint. It’s charitable people like these who we thank every day for providing a fresh supply of blood to those whose lives depend on it. A child suffered a car accident; a construction worker incurred an injuring fall; a mother hemorrhaged postpartum; a grandfather’s illness warranted a transfusion. All are alive today due to the blood of donors.
As a Rockaway Care Center resident, you need health services yourself, so while you won’t be donating your own blood, you can still participate in promoting this crucial life-saving effort in honor of National Blood Donor Month. We are proud that Rockaway Care Center employees often take time out to get to the nearest blood donor van, hospital, or health clinic to donate their healthy blood for others.
Talk up the subject with your caretakers, family and friends. Tell them specifically about yourself or those you know, and how the blood transfusion was critical to recovery. Spread the word that January is National Blood Donor Month, as good a reason as any to get the rich red color flowing outward from one’s self into others in need. While it’s not the red associated with a holiday, the essential nutrients donated from blood are symbolic of a holiday of their own: Always cause for gratitude, and hopefully in the end, celebration.