By Mark Pompilio
Courtesy of the Record Herald; Printed 10.6.13
TIPP CITY – When Reanna Everhart got a call from her grandmother, Tipp City blood donor Sandy Hagen, Thursday morning, Sept. 27, she thought it might be about a shopping trip.
“She calls me to do stuff,” said Reanna.
But Sandy’s “to do” list was a little more ambitious. The Dayton road trip started with a stop at the Ronald McDonald House, followed by a milestone visit to Community Blood Center (CBC).
“Oh yeah,” Sandy said to Reanna, “We’re going to give blood too!”
Sandy didn’t want to miss a chance to support the fourth annual MIX 107.7 FM Radiothon benefitting Dayton’s Ronald McDonald House, a charity that is close to her heart. But she was especially motivated to have Reanna along when she visited CBC. Sandy knew she would be making her milestone 100th lifetime blood donation, and she encouraged Reanna to make her first blood donation with CBC.
“We give to the Ronald McDonald House,” said Sandy. “I called her, because I knew she had the day off from nursing school.”
Even though Reanna is 22 and hadn’t donated since she was in high school in Michigan, she didn’t hesitate to join her grandmother for the milestone donation.
It’s been a memorable journey to the 100 LTD milestone for Sandy.
“I had surgery on my jaw, seems like it was in 1980,” she said. “I gave my own blood for the surgery. I thought, some people can’t give their own blood, why don’t I start giving blood? I’ve given ever since.”
Sandy, short for Sandra, has four grandchildren, with Reanna the oldest. She’s retired after 29 years with the U.S. Postal Service in Tipp City. In 2010, she was one of the top 10 finalists in the summer blood drive drawing at CBC to win a new Honda Civic. She didn’t win, but remembers all the excitement.
“It was fun, plus I got a $50 gas card!” she said.
Now she’s reached the top of a lifelong ambition, and has a “Donor for Life – 100 LTD” jacket to remember this special day with her granddaughter.
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