Blood Transfusion Recipient

JODY NAGLE

Jody Nagle shares new memories with her family thanks to volunteer blood donors.

 

"I wish I could tell you what happened after the accident, but I can’t remember anything," Jody Nagle said.

Jody lost eight years of her memory after an automobile accident in 1989. It was the same year Jody began to donate to the community blood supply.

"They tell me I was airlifted to Erie Community Medical Center in Buffalo, where I received a blood transfusion to make up for the quantity I lost," she said. "The back of my skull was cracked, and I lost a lot of blood." Inexplicably, none of the rest of her body was harmed.

Jody continues to rely on family and friends to remind her of events and even of her disposition during the eight missing years of her memory. What she knows about the accident is second-hand.

"It was Christmas break of my freshman year in college, and I insisted that my little sister wasn’t going to come with me to the store. I’m told that I wasn’t normally like that. But it was a good thing, for whatever reason, I was that day. The passenger side of the car was wrecked."

Now a wife, mother and teacher’s assistant, Jody appreciates the need to have blood available for emergencies like hers. Timing is critical for trauma cases, and blood has to be on hand. She’s given the equivalent of about five gallons.

"My accident cemented my desire to donate," Jody said. "I know I’ve got good blood, and if I can help someone, I want to give."