Giving Blood . . .

When people ask me why I give blood, my answer is very simple ... "My daughter would have died without blood transfusions."

I took this photo of seven-year old Caroline with her brothers Alec (five years old) and Laurence (two years old) on August 12, 1995. If you look closely, you might be able to see the bruises on her legs.

Concerned about them, I took her to our pediatrician two days later. By that afternoon, we were sitting in the pediatric hematology/oncology offices at the University of Kentucky Clinic being told that she most likely had aplastic anemia, a potentially fatal disease causing bone marrow failure. By that evening, she had been admitted to the UK Children's Hospital to receive her first of many platelet transfusions. Her platelet count, which should have been around 200,000, was about 2,000. The next morning, she received a tranfusion of red blood cells and underwent a bone marrow biopsy ... and within a few days, we had learned that Laurence was her perfect bone marrow match and were launched into a gruelling two-month ordeal of hospitalizations, chemotherapy, and a bone marrow transplant which ultimately cured her disease.

Realizing our complete and utter dependence on a safe and available blood supply to keep Caroline alive was a huge wake-up call for me, especially since I had never donated blood before (fear of needles was my excuse!).  My first donation was designated for Laurence, who needed transfused red blood cells after some of his bone marrow was surgically extracted and given to Caroline.

Donating blood to one of my children hardly felt like "paying it forward," so after I returned to Kentucky from Caroline's seven-week hospitalization in Cincinnati, I  started going to the Kentucky Blood Center to donate regularly. I wanted to donate platelets, but the process current at the time involved a two-needle procedure which just didn't work for me. So, until KBC got single-needle machines, I donated whole blood.

For the past 10 years or so, though, I've been primarily donating platelets through a procedure known as apheresis. You can donate platelets every two weeks, up to 24 times a year, so I've racked up a considerable number of donations in the 15 years I've been giving ... 190 donations or almost 24 gallons, to be exact!

Platelet donation involves just one needle now, so it's not any more painful or difficult than whole blood donation ... it just takes longer. But I never mind giving, because it's a chance to put my feet up for a few hours and read a good book without feeling like I need to get up to vacuum the house or do the laundry.

The view from the chair isn't particularly interesting, so it's easy to concentrate on my book. Sometimes I even fall asleep, although I'm supposed to keep squeezing!

My faithful technician Sally (the only one who can stick me successfully about 90% of the time) chats for a bit, but then she finishes her paperwork and goes off ...

Here's what I look like, all covered up in a blanket because having a pint or so of blood circulating out of your body and then re-entering makes you a bit cold:

Because I'm not too heavy, they never get too many platelets out of me at one time. Some people can do a double or even triple donation, but the Blood Center has to content itself with about this much from me ...

OK, I'll admit it ... I've never really gotten over my squeamishness about needles. I never look when they're sticking me! So even taking this photo with my free hand was a little bit of a stretch for me. But they always cover up the needle site with a little gauze, so it's really not that bad!

Giving blood ... I'm committed to doing it until health or circumstances prevent me from doing so. Because ... if other people hadn't been doing the same thing 15 years ago, this lovely girl, one of the lights of my life, might not be alive today!

Our Tracie Long Fitness Vacation

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Background:

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One boring Saturday night in April, as Marsha and I were idly texting back and forth, I randomly mentioned how much fun it would be to visit Tracie Long's Bluefish Fitness Club in Charleston, South Carolina. Marsha immediately jumped on the idea and said, "Let's do it!" We quickly decided that mid-July would suit both of our schedules, I contacted Stephanie Lasek at the gym, and by that Wednesday, we had hotel reservations and a firm date to train at the gym the week of July 12.

 

Monday, July 12:

It was a nine-hour drive from my house to Charleston, SC, and we had pretty miserable weather most of the trip, with strong thunderstorms and pouring rain ... we saw five car accidents on the way! We arrived at our hotel around 5:00 PM. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Historic District, which is perfect for a Bluefish fitness vacation ... less than a five-minute drive or 15-minute walk ... reasonably-priced and convenient to the rest of Charleston as well. 

We knew our vacation was off to a great start when the hotel receptionist told us that we had gift bags waiting for us and came out from the back room with Bluefish gym bags stuffed with nutrition bars, bottled water, and our very own Bluefish T-shirts. Here are Marsha and I displaying our goodies.

After dinner, once a torrential thunderstorm had passed through, we walked down to Bluefish. I had been there before (although never to work out), but Marsha had not, so of course she experienced the same thrill I had upon seeing the wonderful view of the harbor and the very place where the TLT videos had been filmed! John, Tracie's very handsome husband, was there to greet us and to give us a quick tour of the gym. Then it was back to the hotel to get enough sleep to make it through the physical exertions of the next few days!

Tuesday, July 13:

Bluefish is lavishly equipped with the usual gym equipment ... weight training systems, cardio machines and the like, but Marsha and I were primarily interested in the group classes and personal training sessions. Bluefish offers group classes through Body Training Systems, which means that the classes are pre-choreographed but led by an instructor with music provided by BTS. I absolutely loved these classes and if they were offered in any gym in my community I would join in a heartbeat!

At 8:30, we arrived at Bluefish and started with the Group Power class, a higher-rep, endurance-type weightlifting class, led by perky Kimberly. We cycled through all the major body parts and were quite pleased with how well we were able to keep up. Immediately after Group Power, at 9:30, we launched into the Group Step class led by Stephanie Lasek, who is the advanced modifier in Better Burn -- Better Buns. I had never taken a step class before, although I have done plenty of step videos (mostly Cathe's) and I really loved it ... there's an energy generated by doing things in a group that you don't get at home and the music was loud and really motivating. I guess the best thing, compared to a video workout, is that you don't know what's coming next, so there's no boredom/dread factor. Marsha and I looked like drowned rats afterwards (see below) but we felt really energized and excited about how well we'd done. Frankly, I felt like we'd more than kept up with the rest of the class. We refreshed ourselves with a power bar and some vitamin water and walked around the harborfront a little bit.

At 12:30, we went to Tracie's new LONGevity Studio, which is located in the same waterfront complex as the main gym, and took a TLFit class with Nancy. Nancy was the beginner modifier in Endurance for Movement and also made frequent appearances in the older Firm workouts (she's the dark-haired woman wearing a lavender top in Maximum Body Shaping, a pink top and black shorts in Dale's Power Cardio, and black top and shorts in Cardio Burn). Soon after the class started, out of the corner of our eyes, we saw Tracie Long entering the studio and she came over to give us a quick hug (which was really brave of her since we were sweating like pigs!!) We loved this class, which had many of the same moves and even some of the same music as Tracie's new Focus workouts.

After the class, we went over to Bluefish briefly to say "hi" to Tracie and she encouraged us to come back in the afternoon. So we went back to the hotel for some much-needed cleaning up, had our third nutrition bars for the day, and then walked back to the gym. We had the best time hanging out with Tracie ... she told us so many interesting stories about Anna, Mark, Cynthia, other Firm instructors, other background exercisers, etc. etc. One thing Tracie mentioned which I thought would be encouraging to other video exercisers is that when she's had them exercise in her studio they almost always have better form than the average run-of-the-mill gym person. She says we pay better attention and follow instructions more conscientiously.

Then we walked down to a wonderful restaurant, Cru Cafe, where we ate like piranhas after exercising for three hours and only eating three nutrition bars all day! After our meal, we couldn't resist walking around beautiful downtown Charleston, despite the really overwhelming humidity and our understandable fatigue.

Wednesday, July 14:

Today, if anything, was even better than yesterday! Amazingly, Marsha and I were able to get out of our beds without much difficulty, despite working out for three hours yesterday. At 8:30, we got to Bluefish and took our second TLFit class with Tracie herself. Having Tracie lead the workout, with only about seven other women, was almost surreal! She did lots of moves from her DVD's, but the music was different ... almost all pop tunes (Rehab is the one that sticks in my mind).

Then at 9:30, we stayed in the same room and did Group Centergy, led by Stephanie. This is more of a yoga-stretch-balance class which Marsha thought was the hardest one we had taken so far. There were only two other ladies taking the class, and they were very good so we had to work hard to keep up.

After 10:30, we took a break and got some yummy Greek food at Doe's Pita Plus, a place that Tracie said served super-clean food, and then came back to Bluefish. They were setting up a whole "film set" for us in the LONGevity studio. They put down a mat, set up screens, lights, camera, and even a potted plant for decor, and Tracie led Marsha and me through various exercises like pushups, planks, squats, lunges, and deadlifts. She would have us do the exercises individually and then correct our form. This whole session was filmed and they're going to send us each a DVD so that we won't forget what we were told. Tracie was very complementary about our form, but WOW! I really learned a lot about how to do these exercises better. She also showed us how to use a hard foam roller to work out our sore areas. 

Setting up our "film set":

After our filming session, we went back to our hotel and after a shower we set off in the heat and humidity to do some window-shopping. We had another amazing dinner, this time at Slightly North of Broad. 

Then another amble for at least a mile through downtown Charleston, which is remarkably peaceful and quiet. Although there are certainly tourists around, I believe this is their "low season" because it's so hot and humid, and most people are at the beach. At least there's almost always a nice breeze by the waterfront and there were no thunderstorms today.

Thursday, July 15:

Marsha and I definitely enjoyed the chance to sleep in a bit this morning, as our first class wasn't until 9:30. This was another Group Step class led by Stephanie, and this time, I felt like we did even better, especially since some of the moves and combinations were similar to Tuesday's class. 

After that, we went down to the LONGevity studio, where our "set" was still assembled. This time, Stephanie led us through a similar session, but this time focusing on our flexibility issues. She was extremely helpful! For one thing, I had no idea anyone could do a downward-facing dog with their butt as high and their heels flat on the floor ... now I have something to aspire to! We also learned that if we want to increase our flexibility, we're going to have to stretch to the point of some discomfort. Stephanie showed us how to stretch by simultaneously pulling and pushing (for example, sitting on the floor with our feet straight out, we would pull back on our toes while pushing against our hands with our legs) for 15 to 30 seconds, and then relaxing. By repeating this several times, we could stretch farther and farther. She also emphasized how important it is to keep our shoulders back and our core engaged when we're exercising. She suggested that a lot of the pain I get between my shoulder blades is probably due to unconsciously slumping forward when I do exercises like frontal delt raises. Again, this session was filmed, so when we get our DVD's, we'll be able to review all the things she told us!

After refueling with yet another nutrition bar and sports drink, Marsha and I went to the 12:30 Group Power class led by Tracie. This class was the most crowded we'd had, about 20 people, but this time we knew the routine and were able to get out our weights, bars, mats, steps, etc. like old pros. Tracie is just a fabulous live instructor ... she is always scanning the room checking people's form, and giving us encouragement, while performing every move flawlessly herself.

When class was over, Tracie treated us to power shakes and gave us each an individual consultation concerning our "issues." She advised me not to worry about losing any weight ... my body type is muscular, especially my legs, and my upper body is actually a bit too thin ... if I lose weight, she thinks my skin tone will suffer. To fight hunger at night, she encouraged me to pay attention to my hydration, although she thought since I sweated so well (a fact which couldn't have escaped her notice!) I was probably pretty well-hydrated. She was especially enthusiastic about BANa water which unfortunately is only sold in the Charleston area, although it's available by internet order, at a (high) price. With my level of exercise (about two hours a day), she thought I easily burned 2400 calories a day, and she encouraged me to eat six meals a day. She also suggested that I incorporate more kickboxing to lean out my legs, since it's not a weight-bearing exercise, and to try Pilates for my core.

Marsha and I returned to the hotel, cleaned up, and treated ourselves to an Italian meal at Bocci's. Needless to say, since it was our last evening in Charleston, we spent another few hours walking around the city and enjoying the sights.

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Friday, July 16:

While Marsha opted to get a bit more sleep, I got up at 5:35 to attend one last class, 6:00 Group Kick with Tracie. I think this might have been my favorite, although it was a super sweatfest! I was glad that I'd had at least some kickboxing experience, because the class moved really fast and I didn't catch on to everything right away. The music was wonderfully energizing and, as usual, Tracie did an impeccable job of leading us. 

Then as a final surprise, after the class, Tracie gave us potted bamboo plants as a going-away present to take back to Kentucky! And her own fitness guru, Tim Church, took these photos before I left the gym for the final time. I especially like his idea of Tracie and I having a "gun show", though I know who won this one!!

To Sum Up:

Marsha and I both felt we were treated like queens during our five days in Charleston. From our gift gym bags at our arrival to our bamboo plants at departure, and all the time and attention that was lavished on us in between ... we couldn't have been more pleased with our experience. We both felt we'd returned to Kentucky re-energized (despite our sore muscles), re-motivated, and overflowing with a wealth of knowledge that would help us maximize our workouts in the future.