Part Of Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2: ANDRI

Andri was normally the first appointment of the day at The Blood Bank in University Hospital. He would arrive early, make his donation and then head off to work, arriving 15 minutes later than normal. He was surprised when he saw another person already in one of the chairs beginning the platelet donation process. He felt like the staff had “cheated” on him. He felt that he had developed a bond with them because of his early arrival time. Given the time of the day, there normally weren’t a lot of folks donating and in spite of the fact that he would bring along a book or a DVD to watch, he would usually end up talking to the staff for the two hours he was there. It was a time for him them to bond by sharing stories of vacations, celebrations and heartbreaks. In addition, they solved all of the worlds’ problems and in doing so, brought peace on earth. 

Andri knew of the value of platelet donations to those who ended up receiving them. He knew they were needed by those going through chemotherapy treatments for cancer. He wasn’t sure exactly how, but he had known too many people affected by his nemesis, cancer, and this was his way of striking back. In fact, his donation today was going to be used specifically for a current patient that he was matched to. He heard the stories of previous donors being matched and eventually meeting each other. He wished for that for himself, but it hadn’t happened yet. In addition, he also had signed up to be a bone marrow donor for the same reason.

Maybe even he was sometimes a little too proud of his mission. He always wondered if the others in the chairs next to him were as altruistic. Until the time he saw a donor a few chairs down nearly pass out as they began the process. Once the staff stabilized them, he asked quietly, “Are they OK?”

“They’re fine,” the staff member replied, “Can’t tell you their background due to HIPPA, but they are as dedicated as you to helping cancer patients. Let’s get you started. What arm do you want to use today?”

“Yours.”

“Ha! That’s a new one.”

“From me?”

“Nope, first time I’ve ever heard that response. However, it doesn’t surprise me that it came from you.”

On this day, Andri was a little too tired from some long hours at work and restless nights to engage in too much wittiness. Plus, the guy in the next chair, well, something didn’t seem right about him. It was as if there were words poised on the tip of his tongue and in his countenance, but he wasn’t saying much.

“Maybe a first timer. Might need some calming,” Andri thought.

Suddenly, he spoke.

“Nervous?” he asked Andri.

“Nope. Done it many times before. Actually, this is my 40^th time. Used to it. How about you.”

“Don’t know how many times or how long. Seems like it’s been forever. This is the first time here, however. Just moved to town.”

“Where did you move from?”

“Let’s see, where haven’t I lived? My job takes me all over the world. Last place I lived before moving here was Toulouse, in France”

“Gipsy Kings!”

“Close. Love those guys!”

“What were you doing over there?”

“I do missions world-wide. So now I’m here.”

“Interesting. How long are you here for?”

“Probably a few years. That’s been my history. Spend 3 years or so getting a project up and running, and then I move on to the next one.” (to be continued)