Welcome to Issue #271
by Rachel Brandes
Quote of the Week
“Strong women don’t have attitudes, we have standards.”
– Marilyn Monroe
Feline Tomfoolery
with Brady & Belichick
Dear Humans,
This week we are comfortably resting on the weighted blanket, which is oh so cozy. Side note: If you have never tried out a weighted blanket, we highly recommend it. It’s like a full body hug, so says the human. We only lay on top of it.
It’s great entertainment when our human tries to pick it up and fold it. Maybe she needs to hit the weights a bit harder. She makes weird grunting sounds, too. Awkward.
Four-ish weeks to go before we become residents of Utah. The days are flying by.
Much Love, Brady & Belichick
A fun internet find below that our human asked us to include this week. It is a fellow black cat, so we agreed to share the spotlight.
Brady & Belichick are Rachel’s adorable felines. These two cute boys turned two on May 4, 2025.
Random Photo of the Week
A fun find while out on a walk. If only there were more inspirational chalk art in the world. Photo by Rachel.
Mental Health Minute
Are You Happy?
Rachel found this image on the Internet years ago and kept in the screenshot reel for a reminder. It seems so easy, right? It really is up to us to make ourselves happy, as tough as it can be sometimes. It is all about choices.
The current struggle Rachel is facing goes a little bit like this: Are you happy eating so much ice cream? No. Do you want to be happy? Yes. Stop eating so much ice cream. Hmmm, why does she have to live so close to Whole Foods?
Sunday FunDay RunDay
with Tacoma Run Club
This Sunday ritual never gets old. Injured or not, it’s where Rachel wants to be each week. She hopes to find a group this great in Utah. (Photo taken 8/27/2025)
Blood Donation #15
Tis the Season
A Bloody Valentine
How about if we go back to the beginning for a moment… It was February 14, 2023, (highlighted in Issue #143) that Rachel would attempt her very first blood donation. She had selected this date to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Rachel has had a huge fear of needles for years and thought she would try to get over that fear by donating blood. What better to get over a fear of needles than to face a large needle and a pint of blood loss at the same time? Yes, Rachel is a bit of an extreme thinker at times. Luckily, she had a great phlebotomist, Miriam, to make her first experience a great.
Just in case you noticed the shirt, she wore that for the occasion, as it only seemed appropriate. Shout out to the My Favorite Murder podcast for the fun shirt.
A Hematoma to Remember
From the beginning to the penultimate Washington donation, (Issue #263), Rachel has had great experiences. Then donation #14 happened. This was quite the experience when the phlebotomist opted not to use Rachel’s trusted vein and things went really wrong. From start to finish, that donation attempt was not the best. The image below was three days after the attempted donation (no filter or editing).
Return to the Scene
Of course, Rachel immediately left that last donation and scheduled her 15th for the exact same location. She would return to the scene and face her fears. A friend asked, “What if you get the same phlebotomist?” Rachel replied, “I will hope she doesn’t blow my vein this time.” Facing fears is a must.
It was now August 1, 2025, and she did not get the same phlebotomist, or the same crew at all. This time she was welcomed and taken care of by Jaden (thanks for agreeing to be photographed, Jaden). Rachel didn’t mention anything about the prior experience until the needle was already in her arm.
“Wonderful Vein“
“Wonderful vein.” The glorious words spoken by Jaden as he placed the needle. Yes, it sure is. She knows that her preferred vein is a great vein and was happy to be in the company of someone that felt the same way. Especially when the someone else is holding the big needle.
Jaden was a very polite, friendly, and competent phlebotomist. He was able to make Rachel feel at ease from the very beginning. When she asked him how long he’d been working as a phlebotomist and he responded “10 months,” she was shocked. He is a natural. Jaden has aspirations to become a medical doctor but isn’t quite sure on which speciality he will chose. Right now, he just hopes to make it into med school at some point. Rachel wishes a the best of luck to Jaden for his future endeavors.
She had a very comfortable experience with a donation time of 5:36 minutes. Her iron was still on the lower side at 12.8, but above the deferment level. What really surprised her was when her blood pressure came in at 133/77. This is on the high end for Rachel. I would seem that her current diet of frozen pizza and ice cream is not serving her well at all.
Angles Are Everything
Rachel usually loves her post donation photos, and this is a good one, no doubt, however, while she thought this would be a good angle, her leg certainly wasn’t the intended focal point. Oh well, lesson learned. The bag of blood is the most important thing.
Collecting Badges
Yahoo, more badges. Rachel still has no idea what these badges are all about. They are fun to collect anyway. Empty tank ’25? No clue.
Last Washington Donation
As Rachel says farewell to Washington before she is eligible for her next donation, she has accumulated a total of 1.87 gallons donated. Not too shabby for a gal once terrified of needles. She has already scheduled her 16th donation and what will be her first Utah donation for early October. She will be moving from Bloodworks Northwest to the American Red Cross and hopes for many more donations to come. Until next time, be well.
