By Emma Needell, American Red Cross 

Cait Kooistra doesn't just like fitness. It's how she structures her whole life.

She's done triathlons. She and her husband uprooted their life on the east coast and moved to Colorado so they could be closer to the natural playground of the Rocky Mountains. Even her work — managing client accounts at a marketing tech company — ties back to that same passion, as her clients are ski resorts and outdoor brands.

The way she sees it, her body is a system, a machine to fine-tune. Whether it's heart rate zones or macros, it all runs on the same kind of thinking: find what works and do it better.

But taking time to rest? That never really factored in until 2022. 

Cait went in for what was supposed to be a routine laparoscopic surgery – a straightforward procedure, done and over in a day. She’d planned her recovery like everything else: efficiently. A day or two of downtime, and then she’d be back at the gym and hiking one of Colorado’s fourteeners by the weekend. 

But by the end of the week, something felt wrong. 

Pain erupted in her abdomen. She went back to the ER, barely able to stand upright, convinced she was dying. What no one had caught was that a suture had accidentally nicked her intestine. The injured organ twisted on itself and was starting to cut off blood flow. She was ushered in immediately for emergency surgery, which saved her life.

But the biggest change Cait experienced was not physical, but psychological: the realization that her body – the one she’d always trusted, pushed, perfected – was no longer under her control. 

Recovery didn’t look like what she was used to. There were no benchmarks, no progress charts, no quick returns. Sometimes, just walking around the block was the win for the day. 

She couldn't fast-track the healing process.

"I had to learn to listen to my body," she said. "And honor where I was." 

That meant redefining strength, not as speed or endurance, but as patience. For the first time, rest became something she had to actively factor in. It also made her see the medical world differently, like how quickly things can go wrong and how much care it takes to heal after an emergency. 

Cait was lucky; she hadn’t needed a blood transfusion during surgery. But in the days spent in the hospital post-op, a thought stuck with her: "What if I had?" 

That question prompted Cait to look up the nearest Red Cross donation site. She searched by zip code, picked a location and signed up. 

She expected a sterile clinic. Instead, the drive took place in the common area of an apartment complex. It was bright and open, with artwork on the walls and big windows that filled the room with light. She brought her laptop to keep up with work while she waited, but ended up talking with the volunteers and other donors instead. Most were young, which she hadn't expected. It was relaxed and welcoming, more like a neighborhood gathering than a medical appointment.

"There's this camaraderie," she said. "It's not like going to a doctor's office. Everyone's just there to help."

Donating blood has now become part of Cait's life, a habit she’s building into her schedule just like fitness (and yes, rest).

"I hope I've been able to make people see how accessible it is," she said. "Even just sharing it on Instagram sparks conversations. People from my gym, people at work, they ask questions. And that's a start." 

Cait will be the first to admit that donating blood sometimes takes it out of you. You have to rest afterward, drink plenty of water, maybe even take it easy at the gym for a day or two. 

But that rest? It means that she helped save a life. 

If this story inspired you, make an appointment to give blood at redcrossblood.org.