The blood that saved my life
Friday, April 16, 2010
I was so dizzy and my heart was beating so loud I initially thought somebody was beating a drum, so deafening was the sound. It took a while for me to recognise that it was my heart! I took a bath and before I could dry myself, I needed to rest awhile. I gathered as much courage as I could and went through the motions that day although my chest was beating up to a crescendo. By midday, I had to seek medical attention and it wasn't until the next day that I went for a physical examination and was told that my haemoglobin levels had reached unacceptable levels and I urgently needed a blood transfusion. By then I felt suffocated, my throat was closing up, just the effort of pulling a sweater over my head was an impossible task and I was rushed to the nearest hospital.
The first thing they did when I got to the hospital was check my blood pressure and temperature. I am the kind of person who likes to guard my personal space but that night my barriers came crashing down as my beliefs about life, judgments I had placed upon other people crumbled; my mindset was about to be reset and an assessment of my personal values was about to be eroded forever. In less than 24hrs, I came to the realisation that we are all blood brothers and sisters and equally valuable.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...