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Mitchell's blood donation comes full circle By Heather Wilkerson | Daily Times Staff Writer Brent Mitchell gave the American Red Cross a pint of his blood Wednesday, and it meant a whole lot more to him than it ever did before. On Aug. 11, 2005, Mitchell tried to give blood at a Raleigh Road Baptist Church blood drive, but he did not make it past the screening process. Instead of giving him an "I gave blood" sticker, Red Cross workers gave Mitchell a hematocrit deferral letter. Hematocrit is a person's red blood cell count. Mitchell's level was 27 percent. The letter said if your level was very low, less than 36 percent for men, the Red Cross recommended notifying your doctor. Mitchell did not think much about it, but his wife, Shereen, a registered nurse, did. Mitchell was in the doctor's office within days. A colonoscopy, performed exactly one week after his attempt to give blood, revealed the source of his troubles. A growth in his colon was found, and, the next day, surgery was performed to remove it. By then, his hematocrit level had dropped even more. Mitchell needed three pints of blood before the surgery. The growth and part of his colon were removed and Mitchell was given bad news. He had colon cancer. Mitchell's dad died of colon cancer, so Mitchell, then 50, had been getting colonoscopies since he was in his late 30s. For a while, he had one every year because of recurring polyps. Then, once the tests were clear, he had them less frequently. It had been five years since his last colonoscopy when Mitchell's problem was discovered. The last test had been a clean one. Mitchell looks back on his experience and is just thankful to be alive and well. Doctors had told him with such low levels, they were surprised he could even walk. When he rolled up his sleeve Wednesday, he said he hoped it was the first of many more blood donations. These days, Mitchell is cancer free. He's approaching the three year mark of when his battle began. I suspect the Red Cross will always be an agency dear to Mitchell's heart. The screening test helped save his life. Three pints of blood helped save his life. Now, he's helping save someone else's life. Mitchell wants to stress to people that the blood screening test should not be done in place of a physical. He just got lucky. The scene appears every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you have a story that you want to share with heather, e-mail thescene@wilsontimes.com or call 265-7811. If you have an event that you would like to enter on our community calendar, go to www.wilsontimes.com and click on the link for submitting information to the calendar.
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