Global Events
With so many events happening around the world, I thought it would be pertinent to share this quote to remind us of what is truly important.
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
Benjamin Franklin (1776)
Let’s keep our eyes on the ball.
Man with a Golden Arm
A 14 year old boy named James needed 13 units of blood to survive a risky operation to remove two thirds of his left lung. Instead of feeling down about his condition, or forgetting and moving on with his life, the 14 year old reflected on his second chance in life. He was grateful for the blood that was donated by anonymous strangers and vowed to become a blood donor himself when he turned 18. And he hasn’t stopped donating since. He is 80 years old this year.
The story doesn’t stop there. It turns out James Harrison has rare blood. His blood contains a rare combination of antibodies that help fight Rhesus disease. A disease that causes the pregnant mother’s blood to attack the blood cells of her unborn baby. It causes multiple miscarriages, babies can be stillborn or born with severe brain damage, fatal anaemia and jaundice.
Through weekly donations of over 60 years, he has saved over 2.4 million babies from Rhesus disease.
(Picture Citation 1)
‘They’re surprised the vein has lasted this long’- James Harrison. (Citation 1)
He also congratulates every new donor he meets during his weekly visit, “I always say their first donation is no less important than my 1000th donation. They’re saving lives”. (Citation 1)
According to the Australian Red Cross, regular blood donation from a normal donor has the potential to save 17 lives.
This man reminded me of the parable of the sower in the Holy Bible.
Matthew 13 (King James Version)
13 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
James Harrison, God bless you and thank you.
I have been wanting to introduce this story from the Sydney Morning Herald (Australian Newspaper) I read long ago, but I felt like a hypocrite, as I have never donated blood :( So, before I posted this article, I found the nearest blood donation center and went to donate blood. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give blood that day because I didn’t satisfy the necessary hemoglobin level and the alternative was plasma donation but I couldn’t do that either because the machines were all being used!!! (They told me that they were fully booked on that day) So I left thinking I’d come back again soon and then I got hit with the flu. So, here I am posting this article as a heavily medicated hypocrite but I hope this article prompts others to donate blood and save lives.
I’m a seed that doesn’t bear any fruit (yet), but I hope to change this soon.
What kind of seed are you?
Guess which animal this is closely related to?
(Citation 2)
This animal is called Okapi and it is native to Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa.
You probably have seen this animal before but did you know that despite the zebra-like stripes, it is actually more closely related to ~~~ wait for it! … GIRAFFES!!!
What???What???What???
(Citation 3)
Yes, it's definitely an interesting animal!
Thanks for visiting~
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Citation:
1) Sydney Morning Herald, "James Harrison: The Australian blood donor who's saved the lives of two million babies." written by Kate Aubusson, June 12, 2015.
2) bored panda.com, Okapi image.
http://www.boredpanda.com/unusual-animals/
3) Extreme Animals, Okapi image.
http://carriedoroberto.wixsite.com/zoologyproject/okapi