Proof That You Don’t Need Perfect Blood to Have a Lot of Heart
Getting a blood transfusion isn’t easy for a kid.  It takes a long time. You have to sit still. And the donated blood feels cold and “weird” going into your body.

Plus, for a 14-year old, there’s the stigma of having to leave school to go to the hospital – teenage angst being what it is.

So imagine going through that process two straight, four hours a day, every month – for years. A lot of teens would dread the very thought.

And occasionally, Travis Sanchez is annoyed by his routine. But he doesn’t complain. He accepts it as something he has to do. In fact, his trips to Harrison Hospital in Bremerton often seem like good times.

“We actually have fun,” says Melissa Johnson-Bowers, R.N., who was the first to care for Travis in Harrison’s Optimum Patient Care clinic in August 1999, when he moved to the area. “He’s the last patient on Friday nights, so we play cards or video games. He likes to joke around.”

Also intelligent and articulate, Travis knows that thalassemia, the genetic blood clotting disorder that hinders his ability to produce normal re blood cells, can be debilitating. “Before transfusions, I’m weak and tired. Afterward, I feel energized. Without them, my life would be very painful.” Matter-of-factly, he adds, “If people didn’t donate blood, I’d die.”

Royalty
So, Travis makes the best of it. The whole family does; they all go to the hospital on Saturdays. “We make it a family activity,” says his mother, Tina Pallarco.

Adds father Ron Pallarco, “The day before, the other kids always ask if they can go. They look forward to time spent with their older brother.”

So does the Harrison staff. “Travis is royalty in this clinic,” laughs Liz Liebert, R.N., Optimum manager. But even “royal” patients rely on donated blood. “Patients’ lives are changed or saved by blood donors.”

The Blood Center supplies Harrison Hospital with more than 6,000 units of blood annually. And that number is likely to increase with Harrisons’ recent addition of an open-heart surgery program.

As for Travis, he and his father were featured in a Blood Center/KOMO TV commercial doing one of his favorite things – playing basketball. And like most teens, he hands with his friends, listens to music and goes to school.