Hayden Friolet's mother told me over the phone that I should expect to meet a shy and somewhat timid little girl when I came over to interview her. I pulled into the drive of their Socastee home, tucked at the end of a quiet road. Hayden's mother Chloe and her Aunt Alex greeted me from their wooden front porch and welcomed me in. As I set up the camera and tripod in the kitchen I could tell Hayden was growing a little more curious as to what I was doing. She could be seen running back and forth from the living room to the kitchen while I was interviewing her mom. When Hayden gets a little older she'll better understand the story her mom shared with me, how a blood donor through the American Red Cross essentially saved both of their lives.
"I went in for a routine caesarian section with my daughter and had a lot of complications," Chloe Friolet said. "I had to receive two blood transfusions right after delivery, one in each arm. The next morning, I had to receive another one. In all actuality, they saved my life and they gave me the best gift ever."
I'd have to agree. Having only spent an hour with Hayden, she quickly lit up the room. "How old are you Hayden?" I asked. She carefully threw up three little fingers and replied, "This many." That was just the ice breaker. She proceeded to introduce me to her several pets spread throughout the house. "Wake up Sally," Hayden said softly to the hermit crab that wanted nothing to do with the action swarming around her shell. She let Sally be while we made the rounds. First up, the fish tank. "That's the mean fish. That's a nice fish," Hayden explained. Then to a furry animal, with a very cute face. "That's a Gracie bunny." On to another tank filled with turtles, then it was back to the kitchen, but Sally was missing.
When Sally was found and things calmed down, we talked about how those tiny feet wouldn't be frantically pitter-pattering around had Chloe not received a blood transfusion. "When people say 'save a life' you actually don't think of everything you give a person. You give them hope. You give them a chance to see the world like they've never seen it," she said.
Chloe's sister, Alex Hamrick also sees life in a different light. She's donated blood through the American Red Cross three times this year alone. "When people say at school they don't want to do it because they're scared, I say, you know, there are people out there who are scared because they're going to lose their life when you could just, not to be rude, just close your eyes and let them do it and then you could save a life."
The American Red Cross needs your help now, more than ever. The organization has issued an appeal for blood donors of all types due to a critical blood shortage across our nation. In May and June, donations were at the lowest level the Red Cross has seen in more than a dozen years. All blood types are needed, especially O negative because it can be used to treat any patient.
"I am appreciative of every person who is able to go. I think people right now say, 'Okay I'll donate blood, I'll do it next week or I'll do it this time' and they're too busy and it's like we forget how much it can help," Chloe said.
Alex can't put into words how thankful she is someone with her sister's blood type took time out of their day to donate. "I would be speechless. I don't know what I would say to her or him. It would just be a thank you. That's something you cant repay them any other way than to say look who you saved, well two people's lives."
NewsChannel 15 and the American Red Cross invite you to donate Wednesday, July 20. Click here for a list of locations.
