If it’s a Type, Let it Bleed

A Covid 19 ode to a great rock

Disclaimer- Please remember that my blog posts are tongue in cheek which means they should not be substituted for medical advice.  If something I say sparks your interest, it’s best to do your own research.

I recommend Google.

I just read an article in the Huffingpost that claimed your blood type may affect your risk of contracting Covid 19.

I found this fascinating.

I know little about my specific medical statistics but do know that I have the blood that gets along with all the other blood.  I remember this because I used to be a regular blood donor and the Red Cross people would call me constantly.

When I would try to put off donating, the male caller would whisper intimidatingly, “we really need your blood Yvonne” which I took to mean I better get there in a jiffy OR ELSE!

“Fine,” I would reply.  “What days are they offering the Oreos instead of the Cheezits?”

Of course, that was before I knew that they ALWAYS had the Oreos but sometimes they liked to keep them hidden.  That is why, when you donate blood, you must grab your post donation snack ahead of time, before they even stick you, so you don’t get cheated.

Most people donate because it is the right thing to do.  Me, I donated for the good snacks.

Then multiple sclerosis came along.  Now I HAVE to give blood regularly and I don’t get any snacks at all!

Damn MS.

But I digress, as usual.  After reading the article and doing some more research, again Google, I learned that my blood type is O negative.  If my blood is so great, shouldn’t it have an optimistic name- like, say, O awesome?  O positive blood does some good, but O negative is better and should have the more encouraging name.

Heretofore I will be referring to my blood as O awesome which also turns out to be the best to have in light of Covid 19, though both O types seem to be at a slightly lower risk and tend to have less severe symptoms.

You B folks do alright- you’re just about average which totally explains your B rating.

You A folks have a little bit more concern.  But before you run off to the Artic to isolate in an igloo for the rest of your days, again, you need to research this more.  I’m not sure cold weather is good for Covid 19.

And you AB folks, well, you’re just rare….

Researching the article lead me to researching blood types and I learned something else.  We O awesome’s, the blood type formerly known as O negative’s, are so cool, we can share our blood with everyone!   Anyone in the world can get some of my blood and it will get along.  BUT, O awesome people can only get their O awesome blood from other O awesome people.

That doesn’t seem fair.

If I’m suddenly in need of some blood, I have to wait for another O awesome person to show up, know that they are O awesome and not just regular O positive, and be willing to give me their blood.  That doesn’t sound positive at all.

This seems like a bit of a metaphor on life.  Like me, my blood is willing to do its part. But that doesn’t mean that everyone around me can say the same.

It reminds me of a cool rock song written by a guy with such incredible blood and genes that’s he’s fathered most of the attractive children in the world and his friend, a guy who is rumored to get daily blood transfusions just to keep up with his rock and roll lifestyle.

Their song lyrics go like this-

Well, we all need someone, we can lean on   (Sung by everyone)

And if you want to, you can lean on me   (Sung by only O awesome people)

Since I love the Stones, I kept singing-

She said my breasts, they will always be open

Baby, you can rest your weary head right on me

Jagger/Richards

Let it Bleed

The line about breasts got me to think about my bilateral mastectomy surgery and it put the comparison of blood types into a human example.

Following my surgery, a local agency was tasked with doing my home care, which sounded great.  But they weren’t so great and actually, weren’t that helpful.  They called constantly, came at times that didn’t match what they had written on my little card (which didn’t help the rest I was supposed to be getting,) asked a ton of questions, took my temperature, (which I can do myself,) and watched my surgical site to make sure I was healing well.

(The latter might have been helpful if I wasn’t already going to my surgeon constantly for him to do the exact same thing.)

These folks must have been A or B or O positive people.  They sounded helpful and probably are to some but weren’t very helpful to me.

However, the agency also provided a home health aide. She was a youngish girl who came to my house when she said she would, took out my trash and, cringe, helped me take a sponge bath.  I absolutely hated that I needed help with that but hey, when you can’t move your torso without horrific pain and don’t want to be stinky, sometimes you got to suck it up.

She was a tremendous help, basically a lifesaver.  Definitely a fellow O awesome.

She was so great that she even did my dishes so well that my germaphobia tendencies didn’t feel the need to rewash them.

Yes, she was O awesome for sure.  But I couldn’t get her needed help, without getting the help that I didn’t need from the other blood types that weren’t really that helpful to me at all.

Sigh…..

I wonder why they didn’t tell us about this blood type thing three months ago when Covid 19 started?

Maybe because we ALL need to stay vigilant and be careful.  While we O’s (blood type O’s not Spaghetti O’s) are in a little safer category we still need to wear masks and not plan on going to any rock concerts soon.

(Unless it’s the Rolling Stones playing Let it Bleed because as this post shows, they are the exception and have this blood type thing down!)

I also wonder if this blood type theory applies to MS as well.  Has anyone ever done a study on how blood type affects MS?

I tried to research it, but Google was bored with me and sent me a rude message referring to itself in the third person by stating, “Google is not responding.”  So that question will have to wait.

In the meantime, stay safe everyone.  Keep your sense of humor and listen to Mick and Keith, as we all need, someone, to lean on.

Even we O awesomes…….

Hey Friends!  I’m super humbled and blessed to be nominated for a WEGO Health Award in 2 categories- Hilarious Patient Leader and Best in Show: Blog.  Should you be inclined, you can endorse me here until 7/31-

WEGO Health Awards

Thank you for your awesome support!  (Regular awesome, not O awesome.)