Drumroll Please.....

What a beautiful day for a blood drive! Yesterday we held Brooklyn's Blood Drive and it was a HUGE success! I was absolutely amazed at the amount of people that were willing to come out to support such a worthy cause. We had family, friends, co-workers, and strangers that arrived and were ready to donate. All day long we were busy. It was so nice to see friends and be able to chat while waiting. Some people were turned away for various reasons, but all that mattered was that they tried.

I can't tell you how excited and pleased I was to see the steady flow of people yesterday. We had an amazing turn out and everyone was more than eager to help. At one point we had an hour and a half wait, which wasn't what I expected, nor did the people who signed up. But, everyone took it in stride and they were willing to wait to donate. The staff at United Blood Services were outstanding. They kept saying they couldn't believe what a great blood drive it was. They had seen my sign up list a week before and knew it was going to be big. Then when they saw the article in the newspaper on Friday, they finally understood Brooklyn's story. When the coordinator read the article she actually tried to call for another bus, but it was unavailable. She didn't know who she was dealing with. =) Hi, this was little Brooklyn. The little girl that touched so many hearts. The little girl that was able to rally the community together.

I know you're dying to hear the details. Did we reach our goal of 46 donors? One for each day that she was alive? Well, here are the details from our blood drive on Saturday:

*55 people
*15 deferrals
*9 walk-ins
*34 whole blood donations
*6 double red blood cell donations

Which gives us a total of:



I seriously got a little teary at the end of the day. I was the very last person to donate. (To be honest, I was so afraid I would be deferred for iron or something silly. How bad would that be that the Mom wouldn't be able to give??) I was sitting in the refreshment area after donating my pint of blood... waiting my 15 minutes and eating yummy snacks when they tallied the count. She told me the details. 34 whole blood donations, and 6 double red blood cell donations. That brought the total to exactly 46! I immediately teared up. How was it that we hit the goal exactly? With the amount of people we had I was sure we'd reach at least 50 or so donors. But, like normal, some people are turned away. But, with all the appointments, walk-ins, no-shows, deferrals, and double donations it worked out to exactly 46! Not 45 or 47... 46! All I have to say is that God knew exactly what he was doing yesterday as they turned people away, or a stranger would arrive to give. Some how we reached that magical number of 46. Absolutely incredible!

Not only did we have a total of 46 donors yesterday, but we already had 13 people from all over the United States donate in honor of Brooklyn. That means that our little girl inspired a total of 59 blood donations! Incredible. She has saved so many lives! I know that several people are also intending to give within the next week, so this number will probably rise.

I feel so blessed to have an amazing support group of family, friends, co-workers and strangers in the community. When you put a goal out there, people rise to the occasion. People are willing to help when asked. Yesterday was a day of celebration for us. It was a day to celebrate and honor our little baby Brooklyn. I was asked if it was a hard, sad day for me. My response, "Absolutely not! It's exciting!" Although I still grieve for what should have been... I am truly blessed with what I have. My perspective on life is so different now. I see the good in life and the good in others. Holding Brooklyn's Blood drive was healing to me. My heart is full. I know Brooklyn is looking down on us and smiling that we cared enough to organize such an event. Because of Brooklyn, countless lives will be saved. Her memory will live on. We will continue to cherish the memories we had with her and the memories of yesterday.

I am thrilled that the blood drive was so successful. Thank you just are two small words... they don't truly tell how grateful I am for every single person here in the community or across the United States that have already donated blood in memory of Brooklyn. With your help we were able to exceed our goal of 46 donors. You have all helped me heal and bring more meaning to Brooklyn's life. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Here are some additional photos from Brooklyn's Blood Drive:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com