Third time lucky?

This weekend I went to donate blood, it was my third time and I was rewarded with a snazzy key chain/zipper pull and uh, fainting! 

I had never fainted before but I imagine each time it happens it is just as scary of an experience as the first time. Here’s what happened, filled out my forms, had my arms inspected for drug use, got my temperature taken along with my blood pressure and hemoglobin levels, all was fine. Get into the chair and I felt okay but then I get to the table to enjoy my mango juice and oatmeal cookies and my breaths become really shallow, my vision starts to fade, I rest my head on the table and tell the aid how I am feeling. All I can remember is a nurse asking me if I could walk to the stretcher and I said “oh yeah, no problem” and then I open my eyes, I have ice packs on my wrists and the back of my head and a nurse is asking me if I’m okay and telling me that I fainted. Turns out, not only did I faint but I also puked - oh geez, SO EMBARRASSING! When I found out that I puked that’s when I started to tear up. 

It’s a bit of a mystery as to why it happened. I ate a hearty and balanced breakfast so I wasn’t hungry, my hemoglobin level was normal but the super nice nurse told me that it could have been low blood sugar levels and suggested next time I eat something sweet right before blood donation. And, there will be a next time, not going to let a little fainting scare me.