This is a re-post of a blog I did last year.  But now it has pretty pictures to go with it!

PRETTY PHOTOS!

And you can see what donating bone marrow is like now.

A little over a year ago I donated bone marrow.  I try to give blood every 58 days.  I’m the only one in my family with my blood type O+.  And since I’m a universal donor, my blood is always the one used when there isn’t time to type people (say in a horrible accident or natural disaster) so my blood always runs out first.

About 7 years ago I found out about the National Bone Marrow Registry and decided to sign up (you provide them with a couple cheek swabs).  Six years later, I get a call saying I’m a possible match.
Some people are on this registry for 30 or 40 years and never get a call, I was on for six.

So I went to have some blood taken.  I never heard anything back.  I tried to contact the bone marrow place, still never heard anything.   I figured I wasn’t a good match and forgot about it.  And moved across country.  Suddenly like 8 months later, I get another call saying they wanted me to have a second round of match tests (give some more blood samples) done again because I am still a possible match.

Some of the vials of blood they took

REALLY? I was so surprised by this, because I pretty much forgot about it.  So I went in to provide more blood samples (each time it was just a couple tubes of blood).  Cool.  ok. Didn’t hear back. Forgot.

Suddenly about 2 months later I get a call asking me how quickly I can donate bone marrow.

Wait, What? I match? 

From here is was a crazy whirlwind 3 weeks.  I had to watch a DVD and sign all these papers, multiple times, on the possible side effects and things.

Which really, for me it’s just a few side effects.  It’s the recipient that has to deal with the real pain and possible complications and stuff. 

And I qualified for this new way of donating bone marrow (which I learned during this process bone marrow is just blood stem cells), and this new process does not involved drilling into your hip!

I was totally ready to do the hip drilling, but hey, if you just want to stick a needle in each arm and spin my blood versus drilling holes in my hip, I’m totally ok with that too.

I filled out all the papers, got flown to San Diego for a day for the final tests (yes, they flew me, all expenses paid from Vegas to San Diego and back for a few hours of tests).  And they give you a driver.

My driver was awesome. He picked me up at the airport, drove me back and forth to the hospital, and even took me to the grocery store the first day so I could grab food for the week.

A week later I was flown back to San Diego to donate bone marrow, and was put up in a (swank) hotel for 5 days while they did the process.  It involves being injected with a drug that tricks your body into thinking it needs blood; which in turn forces massive amounts of blood stem cells (marrow) into your blood stream.

The most comfortable bed!

The view out the back-door of my hotel room. its to foggy to see the ocean just past the trees

On the 5th day they hook you up to a machine for a few hours that takes the blood out of one arm, spins it, separates the stem cells from the rest of your blood, then puts what they don’t need back into your other arm.

The machine that spun my blood. I don’t even remember taking this photo

24 hours later you feel fine, just still a little tired.

3 days to full recovery. 

I have photos detailing the bone marrow donation process (in Vegas, where I am now.  Oh hey look…photos!)

More needles and equipment they used on me in the hospital. Don;t remember taking this photo either

It’s such a quick easy process with such a quick recovery and now, that’s its been over a year later, I actually got to contact the girl who now has my blood DNA!  (by the way, she is absolutely adorable with the cutest smile ever, and 2 adorable children).

I’m really, really glad she is doing good (I didn’t think I would get so happy each time I got an update and it was good news.  But it was an awesome feeling knowing that she was responding well to my blood). 

I cant wait to meet her in person!

I think more people should sign up to be a bone marrow donor.  It’s not a scary, painful process like we think.  They don’t even have to drill into your hip most of the time anymore. (and you can opt to only donate if they do the blood spin-y process too.)  A lot of people can be helped if more people would be willing to give a few hours of their time to donate blood.

Oh, and they give you Vicodin and Ativan before they hook you up to the machine.  So, if you even stay awake, (which I didn’t, I slept through the process) you don’t care about ANYTHING!  You actually quite love EVERYTHING.

ATIVAN KICKED IN!
This is also the reason why I don’t really remember the photos I was taking. The nurse took this for me.

Please, just look at the site on being a bone marrow donor.  That is all I ask.  Go to the website and just read about it.

You can always ask for more information to be sent to you without having to actually sign up.

It’s a minimal process.  Yes, you get sore, but you are helping to save a life, and the small amount of soreness you endure is nothing compared to the pain the recipient has to go through with radiation and transfusion (while the blood take ahold inside their bodies).

Please just go to the Be The Match bone marrow registry website and read about it for me.  It’s a great thing.

And you can help save a mother of 2 adorable children, so she can actually see her kids grow up…so her kids and husband aren’t left without a mom and beautiful smiling wife.  Like this one:

This is the woman who now has my blood DNA, with her beautiful family. She is amazing and always smiling in photos. I’ve never met them, but I already love them like my own family. I can’t wait until I can finally meet them!

(yes, I’m trying to pull at your heart strings.  If it gets you to even look at the bone marrow registry page, I will totally pull the ‘tugging on your heartstrings’ card)

Go look.

Thank you.

Cheers!,

Dani

PS.  No, this is not a sponsored post. But as a donor, I am also an advocate of donating bone marrow,  and am just trying to get people to read about it more. Donating is your decision.  I would just like to provide you with where to find the proper information so you can make that decision.

So I have been planning a whole trip across the eastern hemisphere starting in East Timor. Going up through Indonesia, seeing the Komodo dragons, Sumatran Coffee farms, Iban longhouses in Borneo etc. etc. across the Middle East, Northern Africa and into Europe.

That was my plan until last week. I’m just going to blame the guys at HostelsandTours ( @hostelsandtours on twitter).  It sounds better that way. Blaming someone else.

But really, this is totally how I work.

Back story, after making twitter friends with the people at HostelsandTours I really, really wanted to visit Chile and South America (and eat copious amounts of empanadas).  I have actually been obsessed with Brazil since I was in 3rd grade and read that Brazil is the best place in the world to see the Scorpio constellation in the sky (and as a Scorpio, I am totally narcissist about anything to do with Scorpio/scorpions).  I dropped out of Spanish in high school when I found out they don’t speak Spanish in Brazil, I learned Brazilian portugues from friends and working in restaurants in Boston (why Brazilians flock to Boston I am still totally confused by).  And that is part of the reason I’ve been avoiding South America. Because once I end up in Brazil there is a very good chance I will end up staying there doing nothing but drinking caipirinhas on the beach all day and night. 

  by  deanj 

But if I started in Asia, I could not actually afford to go to South America unless I could make money along the way. And the more I talked to the HostelsandTours people, the more I wanted to go to South America and Chile, you know, more than just get dizzy on the beaches of Brazil.

Then last week I woke up and thought “why haven’t I looked into starting in South America and visiting the HostelsandTours guys first?”

“Oh the plane tickets will be way too expensive, but I’ll look into it.  Why not”.  so yes, Las Vegas to Chile = $1800 one way. Same for Las Vegas to Brazil.  So I decided to look at map. 

“Hmmm, what’s the closest 2 points, America to South America?  Miami is furthest south. Venezuela is one of the northern most countries.  I wonder how much Miami to Caracas, Venezuela would be?”

$200!

What?!?  I couldn’t believe it.  $200 from Miami to Caracas was cheaper than Las Vegas to Boston!

So I started posting “should I do this?” questions on Facebook and twitter; but before I even got a reply, I already had my answer

“HELL YES!”

  How can I pass up a $200 flight from Miami to Caracas?  It was $800 from Las Vegas to Bali, then another $1-200 from Bali to East Timor.  And I wouldn’t be able to afford south America.  And from Caracas to Bali (back through the States) is $1000.  This way I can also stop back in Vegas for a few months if needed to work and make more money before heading out again.

I bought the ticket.

In one hour I went from, ‘hmmm, should I?”  to “FUCK YEAH, IM GOING TO CARACAS!” and dancing around my livingroom.

(No really, I was dancing.  Its kinda my thing.  I cant help it.  I’m pretty sure my neighbours think im totally nuts.  I will dance for any and all reasons.  Especially if that reasoning can at all involve me doing’ ‘the running man’.  But that’s a totally different story).

So now, with a month before I go, 6 months of research into where to stay, what to see, places to visit has just been thrown out the window and I have a ticket for Caracas.  I don’t know where I’m staying yet, I’m scurrying to find cool places and cultures in Venezuela to visit and how I’m going to travel around (I’ve decided counterclockwise so I still hit Brazil last); but I’m so incredibly excited!

This is how I plan stuff.  I plan and plan and plan, then throw said plans out the window and wing it. I’m either a very exciting person or the dumbest person ever.  I think it’s a bit of both.

I seem to have this ability to just go for it and have it come out amazing; to go on exciting adventures involving things that you cannot find on the internet, people I should never be able to meet, and stories that seem so incredible they could never be true. I just have no fear.  Ok, a little fear. Fear enough to buy the only flight that does not land me in Caracas at 2am, but not enough fear to keep me from trying to talk my way into permissions to visit the Brazilian favelas. (so that may seem pretty backwards, and I probably am way to naïve and trusting, but screw it.  I’m still alive so far).

My mom always said I could go to the store for milk and come back 3 hours later with stories about unicorn and leprechauns and have it be true.  Or walk into a room of strangers (I actually LOVE crashing parties; they are just rooms filled with potential friends) and come out with 3 invitations to do more stuff.

This is how I work. I am way too spontaneous, go-with-the-flow too much, like to say yes to odd invitations to places (not everywhere, I’m not totally stupid, but if I don’t get that ‘bad feeling’ I’m saying yes), and its led me to do some incredible things so far.

So now, with a month to go, I’m going to Caracas. I don’t speak Spanish. I barely speak Portuges. I don’t know where I’m staying yet. I don’t know where I’m going once I’m in Caracas. I will plan some stuff (like place to stay the first night, found a hostel…just seeing my other options at moment), mostly to make friends and family happy.  but I will mostly wing it. 

Because I feel that the most incredible adventures happen when you follow your intuitions, whims,  and invitations.

This is how I travel.

This post is not sponsored in anyway by HostelsandTours.  I’m just linking to them because I think they are awesome people and because I am blaming them for my sudden trip change (even though its totally not their fault).  If you are going to Chile or South America I recommend checking them out and friending them on Twitter. 

They are great, and friendly, and every Saturday morning they host Saturday Spanish Class on Twitter (#SSC) where they will teach you Spanish for free!

Fireworks were shot off from the back of the pool

Sometimes my job as a stagehand/rigger has its perks…like getting to watch the fireworks for free at Mandalay Bay Casino’s Pool! (and in return –had to run spotlight for a horrible reggae band from Alabama..but you take the good with the bad).

Setting up fireworks in the Mandalay Bay Pool

Here they are setting up the fireworks.  The fireworks were set up on barges in the wave pool, and on each side.

Checking on the fireworks set-up.

They started the show with a bang, and playing a whole bunch of USA rock and rockish-country songs (like Born In The USA, American Woman, some other country songs everyone; but me, seemed to know).  Its quite a departure for someone like me; that grew up in Boston, and still thinks it kind of sacrilegious to have any music other than the Boston Pops playing to the fireworks…but I still got into it after my initial shock.

4th of July firework show at Mandalay Bay Pool

The fireworks were quite beautiful, and loud, and sparkly, and continuos! Really, just massive amounts of fireworks for 12 minutes straight.  But this is Vegas; so the whole show is pretty much a giant finale to me (i except for the one time I actually braved the traffic to see the real show in Boston, im used to small townie fireworks…ones almost no bigger than the $700 kits you can buy in the store).  So I thought this was a pretty big show.

Fireworks exploding from the back of the pool at Mandalay Bay Casino

It is really cool to be able to see the fireworks actually get set off; rather than being so far away you don’t see them until they blow up in the sky.  I loved watching them come out of the cannons and leave trails all the way up till they exploded!

Crowd watches the fireworks from the "beach" at Mandalay Bay Pool

It could have also been because I was watching this from my spot tower about 30ft in the air and 100yards away from where they were shooting them off.

You can see how close the crowd is to the firework barges. Im just sad that I didn’t get to see the fireworks set a tree on fire this year (it happened a couple years ago)

The fireworks finale at Mandalay Bay. It was a great show!

And this is the finale.  It was more red, white, and blue than in this photo (they shutter delay to show the trails make it look more pink, off-white, and purple – still a cool color combination).

So for all of you Americans who aren’t in America, or others who don’t celebrate the 4th of July (and why would you celebrate our Independence Day? That would be rather silly)…I hope you enjoyed my little slice of Mandalay Bay’s Fourth of July Fireworks Show.

And for all my British readers out there : HAHAHAHA, WE WON!

Cheers!

So, I do this. I hope I’m not the only one…but the more I’m planning my trip, the more I’m starting to feel like “what the fuck am I thinking?” And “how the hell am I ever going to pull this off?”

I still need a dslr camera, a laptop, rabies shots, and external SSD (solid state drives) or something to keep backup photos on.  And on top of all this, I still need to sell my stuff (going very slowly, almost non-existintly), and save at least $4000 more…in 3 months!

I’m also still waiting to find out if court for my stolen car will delay this trip or not, the place my roommate and I are renting we are now taking to court for a number of health and saftey issues…so we can get out of here.  Oh, and they removed our gate codes so now we have to sit at the gate waiting for either the security or another tenant to come by and let us into our complex (honestly, I don’t know how these people could possibly think this will help their case in court)

Yeah, life happens.  And it likes to do so all at once.  But the “how the hell am I going to make enough money to do this when I have no idea what I’m doing” factor is the worst!  I’m really trying to force myself to not do nothing and just give up!

But I knew this was coming. Every big trip (in or out of country) I do, I go through this. It will pass (usually once I buy the plane ticket…but because of court for my car, I can’t yet).  But I feel the need to write about this feeling of dread, hopelessness, uncertainty, and WTFamidoing?

This blog is about not just my trip, but the emotions and things leading up to it…and this is one of those emotion things.  I doubt I’m the only one that goes through this. I hope this post may help someone else who feels the same, so they can know they are not alone.

But how the hell am I going to save 4grand plus sell all my stuff? (which will almost pay for the camera and laptop…if I can get it to sell!)

Arrgghhh.

So I suck at writing.  Especially when its something I have to write and something I have to not sound like a tool about.

But I just finished the first draft of my trip proposal.  I am proud of myself.  It very likely is hilarious and sad – like watching 6 hours of Manny Paqueo sings Philippeano karaoke music…but I finished.  I feel like the first time I tied my shoelaces by myself. So I guess im just bragging.  I should stop.  Im not Manny Paqueo. I cant beat the crap out of anyone who disagrees with my wordsmithing skills.

yes,

Wordsmithing – verb, the act of creating new words, usually by changing its known part(s) of speech or by combining 2 usually distinct words. Also includes the use of people’s names as adjectives, adverbs, and verbs.  Also known as evolution of language, disregard for grammar, or inability to use grammar correctly and tries to hide it by making shit up.

-noun : wordsmith : the person who does the wordsmithing

(Examples:..just read this blog – its full of them)