Gift of Life
My game in the world is called “The Gift of Life” and it is a blood drive. This game is a gift that keeps giving. The blood drive has a special meaning for me and my family. From May 16, 2005, through May 27th, 2005, my daughter, Amanda (now 13) received transfusions totaling 21 pints of blood. Community Blood Center was the center in charge for Amanda to receive Directed/Designated donations from family and friends, and it was also the center in charge of providing blood transfusions from strangers. It was reassuring to know that my daughter was able to get her family and friends blood transfused into her and just as reassuring was to know that because of unselfish strangers who gave of themselves through blood donations, my daughter had all the blood she needed. I was there living in the hospital for over four weeks with my daughter, other patients and their family. I witnessed and experience how precious blood is.
I can remember vividly how much Amanda’s little body needed blood to survive surgery. I can remember when Amanda was the first time in intensive care and how much her little body needed blood to sustain and survive. I remember how every that blood that was in a bag hanging next to her was been transfused into her body and giving her body what she needed.
How important it is to have Blood Drives and get the community involved in them! I contacted one of the directors from Community Blood Centers. His name is Luis and I asked him to be on my team. Then we set a date, created our team, and played.
I said I wanted to contribute and assist in a way that I could give back to my community and the world. I wanted to say thank you to God, to life, to the world for all that was provided to Amanda to her friends and family. I wanted to say thank you to all the lives I saw that were saved by a pint of blood.
This pint of blood didn’t stop giving once transfused it kept giving and giving and it still is.
My Amanda is living proof that a blood donation is a “Gift of Life” and it continues to live on.
By unselfishly giving one pint of blood, one person assures another person or even three that they will get through.
So it’s a game that touches, moves, and inspires me and inspires me to play for the world!
— Maria Perez, Team Florico
