A Recipient Story: Wes

May 1 12:00am | Stacie Hammer | @shammer26

In January of 2023, Wes went into cardiac arrest while at home. Through the quick action of his wife and emergency responders, he was kept alive long enough to make it to the emergency room. Hospital staff quickly admitted him, and Wes was intubated for nine days. Grateful to be alive after receiving a less than 1% chance of survival, Wes kicked off a long road to recovery. He would go on to spend time from January through February of 2023 in and out of the hospital receiving patient care. Throughout this process, his hemoglobin had fallen below a safe level and he was given blood products as his body worked to recover.

Although Wes cannot donate blood, he has become a strong advocate of blood donation and has used his experience to inspire those around him. “I’ve had family members start to donate blood, which I appreciate. There was also a day I had shared my story during an appointment and had my X-ray technician say it made them inspired to call and make a blood donation appointment downtown,” he recalled. In hopes to continue to inspire those around him to donate blood, Wes said, “Life is but a drip away. Please give so the next person of need will receive the drip of blood they need!”