It was a milestone I wont soon forget.
Almost 13 years ago, giving birth to our daughter, I had an unexpected complication. An unknown case of placenta accreta launched me into a serious postpartum hemorrhage that rushed me into emergency surgery to try and stop the massive bleeding and a significant blood transfusion was required to save my life.
I was lucky…my OBGYN said that if I had had the baby outside of the hospital, I may not have survived. That women in less privileged countries die frequently from this. I have never forgotten that. It lived in me every time I saw an advertisement or sign for blood donation. I thought about it every time a mother told me a scary labour and delivery story.
For years now I have tried several times to donate blood, to pay forward what saved my life, however I had begun to struggle with low iron and time and again my iron was too low to donate. After a similar (but less scary) haemorrhage 3 years later when my son was born, I was advised that more children should not be in my future. So I leaned in to being my healthiest. 10 years of fitness and nutrition focus, I became a personal trainer, a certified nutrition coach…and still I couldn’t donate.
Then at 38 years old, I began feeling off in my body. Fatigue, brain fog, irregular periods, insomnia that drove me to take a different approach to my health. I slowed down.
Instead of focusing on all that I needed to do to feel great and be healthy, I shifted my focus to lowing the stress and cortisol in my body and balancing my hormones. I began working out, eating and living in synch with my female infradian rhythm. Something SHIFTED inside of me. Not only do I have more energy than ever and feel fitter than ever, but today I was able to donate blood.
It was a HUGE win. It meant the world 
to me.
One pint of blood can help 3 people.
It can save a life.
It’s in you to give.