Donating Blood...who knew it could be an adventure?

So I know that usually if you pass out you are considered a wimp, at least when it comes to donating blood. But I am no Bella Swan, the smell and sight of blood do not bother me. "What are you talking about?" you might ask. Well the reason that I am bringing this up is because yesterday I went to donate blood at the Red Cross with my friend Kymn. We went and had a large breakfast at Ihop before we went and donated. I went through the usual process of answering questions, the finger pick, blood pressure, and so on.

Well they had put the needle in and began sucking out my blood. They had gotten my pint of blood and were filling up the test tubes when I began to feel weird. I looked at the lady who was drawing my blood and said "I feel weird." Then I apparently blacked out.
It is a weird feeling to pass out. I felt like I had been spinning around in circles for an hour. I was dizzy and my whole body tingled. When I became conscious again it felt like I had fallen asleep. I even remember dreaming while I was out.

When I regained consciousness Kymn, the woman who was drawing my blood, and the other three guys that worked there were standing around me. Kymn and I were the only donors there at the time this happened, so I was the one getting all of the attention. My body was so weak that I couldn't even lift my own arm. They put ice packs under my head and on my chest which was really nice because I was really hot.
Kymn told me that just before I passed out I got really red then the blood faded from my face and I went really pale. As I laid on the chair trying to regain my strength the lady who had drawn my blood was asking me if I had drank very much water over the last week. I hadn't drank that much water during the week and then Friday night I drank like seven bottles. She said that since my body did not have enough time to absorb all the water I had drank the night before. So I guess that I was slightly dehydrated and that was why I passed out. I also want to point out that I have donated over 2 gallons of blood and this is the first time this has happened to me, and I'm hoping the last.
The rest of the day I was kind of lazy. Kymn wouldn't let me drive my car so I tagged along with her for the rest of the day. I was pretty boring I fell asleep in her car for a little while, and then we went back to her house and watched Baptists at our Barbeque then we later went to the movies and watched Leap Year which was really cute and predictable but it was a really good movie.

So this is the story of my first time passing out, and it had nothing to do with getting sick at the sight of blood. It is a lesson for everyone to make sure and drink lots of water a few days before you go donate blood, instead of just the night before.