I thought Spring was finally here until I left for work this morning (Monday) and found heavy frost on my truck’s windshield. The good news is that the weatherman is predicting warmer, more seasonable temperatures as the week goes on. In fact, they currently say it will be 80 degrees and sunny next weekend. I can live with that!
Those kinds of conditions should be perfect as next weekend is when we are planning to putting our boats in the water. It will be a long exhausting day, but I certainly am looking forward to it. Shane and Jamie uncovered our boat and finished connecting the motor that I had repaired over the winter. Since it’s an old boat I’m sure there will be things to do, but I think it is ready to go in the water and then I’ll deal with what ever is left over from winter storage.
My last Saturday started very early, 4:30 a.m. to be exact. That was the day of our Rotary Blood Screening. We arrived at the hospital about 5:30 a.m. After getting dressed, I put 2 pork butts on the smoker that some friends asked me to cook for a birthday party. When we left the house, it was smelling good.
The blood screening went very well. The lab staff performed over 170 screenings on Saturday. That coupled with the folks that chose our Thursday and Friday options brought the total to over 325 who took advantage of the low-cost testing.
In spite of the early morning and long hours, I find these events one of the most rewarding volunteer services I participate in. Working with the BCMH Laboratory Staff is always a pleasure. They are true caring health professionals that are dedicated to their patients. In addition, the kind and thankful comments of the participants are very much appreciated. We always have someone who takes the time to tell us how valuable the screenings have been to them or a member of their family. Often, we are told stories of how patients credit the blood screenings and its’ early detection with saving their lives or that of a loved one.
The event is a win-win for our club, the hospital and the community as a whole. The patients get the benefit of the low-cost testing, our club makes money that we reinvest in our community and the hospital gives back to the community they serve. Now that makes for a great event… as I see it!