My wife would probably be dead by now, if it weren’t for blood donors. 

            I can’t prove that assertion, of course. It’s almost impossible to prove that something didn’t happen, that could have happened. Safety regulations can argue that traffic controls reduce the total number of accidents; they can never claim that they prevented a specific driver from having an accident.

            But consider the facts. 

            Ten years ago, my wife was diagnosed with leukemia. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, to be precise. In those ten years, she’s had seven different chemotherapies. Six have failed; her white cell counts came down, for a while, but they wouldn’t stay down. 

            Here’s a vastly oversimplified explanation of a very complicated process.

            Human blood has many components. Red cells carry oxygen. Platelets help blood clot, when an injury causes bleeding. White cells have only one job – to repel boarders. 

            White cells are, in a sense, the human body’s internal paramedics. They race to an accident scene, apply first aid, promote healing. They’re the body’s security forces. 

            Ordinarily, the human body maintains just enough white cells to maintain its defences. In leukemia, that defensive force bloats (something like the U.S. military, even in peacetime). White cells proliferate; they get bored; they look for something to do; they start interfering with the rest of the body’s functions. 

            Chemotherapy slashes their numbers. Way down. Until there are too few white cells left to maintain the body’s immunity. 

            Which means that even a common cold may lead to fatal complications.

Generosity by unknown friends

            To maintain health, therefore, my wife needs a monthly transfusion – not of whole blood, but of a blood product called immunoglobulin. It is, essentially, an immune supplement. It includes antibodies that will attack invading bacteria and viruses.

            Immunoglobulin is made from blood plasma. Which is only available from blood donations. 

            Here’s the stunning point – every transfusion that my wife receives contains antibodies pooled from about 1000 donors. 

            Over ten years and 120 transfusions, then, she has received life support from 120,000 blood donors. 

            As you can see, I have an intensely personal reason for encouraging you to be a blood donor. I don’t expect your whole blood to come to my wife; it will almost certainly go to someone who has an immediate need -- a surgery patient, a victim of an accident, a casualty of violence. It will help someone in your area who needs it. 

            But among the millions of blood donations, some will be used for plasma. And some of that will help to keep my wife’s immune system functioning.

            It’s not as if giving blood is going to cost you anything. An hour of your time, perhaps. One unit is about one-tenth of your blood supply – the biblical “tithe” in religious terms. Your body will replace that blood within a week.

            But somebody, somewhere, will be enormously grateful for your generosity.

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Copyright © 2017 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups, and links from other blogs, welcomed; all other rights reserved.

            To comment on this column, write jimt@quixotic.ca

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YOUR TURN

Last week’s column, you’ll recall, was about possible ways of responding to personal tragedies.

Jack Dreidger endorsed the notion of just “being there” in times of tragedy: “I am a resident of a home for seniors in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. I was walking in the hallway when I noticed a lady, 101 years old, sitting on a chair in front of her apartment, obviously in mental/emotional stress. All I did was to sit on a chair close to her and look at her. 

            “In a few minutes she was completely calm. No kidding. I never said a word. There are times when words mean NOTHING.”

Isabel Gibson: “Thanks for sharing your experience on the receiving end of help after a personal tragedy. You offer good advice/guidelines.

            “In your example, the people who acted all had at least one thing in common: They were in relationship with you. (At least, I assume there were no strangers cleaning your bathroom or mowing your lawn.)

            “Today, our internet fundraising campaigns invite us to act outside of any relationship. Well-meaning people around the world, rightly horrified by the Humboldt Broncos' accident, collectively donate $15 million, which will be its own horror to distribute equitably and effectively while honouring the intent of the givers. Quilters make more than 500 comfort quilts and then look for outlets for them.

            “In the face of horrific accidents, maybe we can find a way to channel our sadness and sympathy into listening to, and then reaching out to, someone in our own circle or community who is in pain similar to the Broncos’ community -- albeit a pain less newsworthy.”

Laurna Tallman offered some words of caution: “Wise advice, hard won. I would add that many people trying to help the bereaved or traumatized expect immediate feedback from their efforts. It normally takes about two years for a person to recover from the loss of a dearly loved one or from other severe emotional trauma. Two is not a magic number; some people take much longer. While every gesture and kindness is a healing balm, those blessings will not erase the deep wound.”

Bob Rollwagen: “Tragedy is the hardest event we have to deal with, and the one we have the least training or education to deal with. Experience helps, but does not make it easier. I respect the teenagers in Florida because even worse than interjecting your own story is … someone who totally disrespects the solution to the issue that caused the tragedy attempts to cover it for political gain. When President Obama spoke to a tragedy, you could feel his hurt, and he tried to bring change, trying to listen and understand and learn. [Those are] silent actions that meet the needs of others.”

Along with some personal comments, Jane Wallbrown wrote, “Clinician or not, your column was spot on. Every bit of it.”

Steve Roney, on the other hand, felt that my points were poor advice: “Having a couple of years ago gone through a major illness, and so getting some of these responses from others, I speak largely from recent personal experience. I find my reactions differ from yours.

            “You write: Don’t say, ‘I know how you feel.’ I disagree. People really can understand and sympathize with one another. Empathy is a good thing, we should encourage each other to make the effort to try to understand how the other guy feels. It seems wrong to condemn it when another tries.”

            And about my caution against the line, “If there’s anything I can do, just call me,” Steve responded, “Several friends said exactly that to me, ‘If there’s anything I can do, just call me,’ and I was grateful. It is just the right thing to say. You do NOT want to decide for the sufferer what they need. That could be taking advantage of their vulnerability to impose your will; or even if not so intended, might seem like that. It violates their dignity. And, of course, as a practical matter, they might not really need another casserole. Indeed, what they might need most is time alone. Let them decide.”

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PSALM PARAPHRASES

In this paraphrase of Psalm 1, I chose to stay with the original metaphor rather than switch it to the business world or to quantum physics. 

Happy are those who refuse to be led astray.

The lure of living selfishly whispers in our ears;

The opportunity to cause pain constantly crosses our path. 

Even if I avoid those traps, the temptation to scorn others taunts me. 

Happy are those 

who keep their eyes on the distant vision

of how God intended life to be lived, 

and to think on that vision, every step of the way.

They grow like a tree growing by a lake; 

Their roots go down deep,  drawing strength from all the history of human experience,  waters that will never dry up.

They blossom in spring and bear fruit in the fall;

They will not wither in tough times. 

Drifters are not like that; Their roots are as shallow as tumbleweed.

In the heat of summer, they blow away in the wind.

They have nothing to hold them upright.

They cannot stand when storms howl. 

They are neither gathered like hay, nor picked like apples. 

They have no lasting worth or value;

Their influence will not last long among us.

God knows who among us is in the right;

We will see whose work disappears when winter comes.

For paraphrases of mostof the psalms used by the Revised Common Lectionary, you can order my book Everyday Psalmsfrom Wood Lake Publishing, info@woodlake.com.

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TECHNICAL STUFF

If you want to comment on something, send a message directly to me, jimt@quixotic.ca.

            To subscribe or unsubscribe, send an e-mail message to jimt@quixotic.ca. Or you can subscribe electronically by sending a blank e-mail (no message or subject line) to softedges-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca. Similarly, you can un-subscribe at softedges-unsubscribe@lists.quixotic.ca.

            I write a second column each Sunday called Sharp Edges, which tends to be somewhat more cutting about social and justice issues. To sign up for Sharp Edges, write to me directly, jimt@quixotic.ca, or send a note to sharpedges-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca

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PROMOTION STUFF

To use the links in this section, you’ll have to insert the necessary symbols.

            Ralph Milton ’s latest project is called “Sing Hallelujah” -- the world’s first video hymnal. It consists of 100 popular hymns, both new and old, on five DVDs that can be played using a standard DVD player and TV screen, for use in congregations who lack skilled musicians to play piano or organ. More details at wwwDOTsinghallelujahDOTca

            Ralph’s HymnSight webpage is still up, http://wwwDOThymnsightDOTca, with a vast gallery of photos you can use to enhance the appearance of the visual images you project for liturgical use (prayers, responses, hymn verses, etc.)

            Wayne Irwin's “Churchweb Canada,”an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. <http://wwwDOTchurchwebcanadaDOTca>

            I recommend Isabel Gibson’s thoughtful and well-written blog, wwwDOTtraditionaliconoclastDOTcom

            Alva Wood’s satiric stories about incompetent bureaucrats and prejudiced attitudes in a small town -- not particularly religious, but fun; alvawoodATgmailDOTcom to get onto her mailing list.

            Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony”-- ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’sreaders. Write him at tomwatsoATgmailDOTcom or twatsonATsentexDOTnet