Many years ago I kept experiencing these dull but painful stomach aches. This continued for about a month, It was really sporadic but when they would hit, they would last about 24 hours and then I was fine. One Sunday after a weekend of shenanigans the pain hit and I was over it. I drove myself to the emergency room and things escalated quickly., within two hours I was having surgery and my appendix was being removed. The doctor said "you will be out of here tomorrow evening", as a result I instructed him to not call anyone on my behalf. I figured I didn't want to worry anyone and since I was only gonna be there for 24 hours there was no need. Long story short, two surgeries, twenty one days and gallons of blood later I left the hospital.

Blood is not necessarily one of those things we think of everyday, however blood is vital and without it there is no life. I'm so grateful for everyone who donated blood when I was in need and honestly I've always felt like when you give blood, you give the gift of life... here is your opportunity to do so.

The American Red Cross is having a blood drive at the Country Inn and Suites By Radisson in Meridian and frankly they're having trouble getting donors. If you feel compelled to make a positive difference here are the details.

Country Inn and Suites By Radisson

3355 E Pine Ave, Meridian, ID 83642

Banquet Room

Friday, April 23,2021

11am-5pm

To schedule an appointment go to redcrossblood.org and use sponsor key COUNRTYINN

READ ON: See the States Where People Live the Longest

Stacker used data from the 2020 County Health Rankings to rank every state's average life expectancy from lowest to highest. The 2020 County Health Rankings values were calculated using mortality counts from the 2016-2018 National Center for Health Statistics. The U.S. Census 2019 American Community Survey and America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2019 data were also used to provide demographics on the senior population of each state and the state's rank on senior health care, respectively.

Read on to learn the average life expectancy in each state.

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