By Suzanne Lawler
There are things in life you can count on like clockwork: the sun will come up, someone will offer you sweet tea in the South, and every 56 days, two caring and selfless women will walk in the door of a Red Cross office to give blood with big smiles on their faces.
Technically Rachel Fortuna and Nancy Lewis are not related. “My blood sister we have coined ourselves,” Lewis chuckled. It’s a fitting title. The pair work in the Ricoh USA business office in Macon, Georgia. Individually they’ve both committed to help save lives. “I started when I was 17 years old and I thought I’m going to make a difference in the world,” Fortuna said.
Blood buddies support each other while giving consistently to the American Red Cross.
Fortuna and Lewis have made that difference, Lewis began donating 30 years ago too. But their journey together began in 2001. Ricoh sponsored blood drives on-site. “We worked pretty closely together and then we really developed a friendship and then we would go to the blood drives at the same time and have our snacks and we just got in the habit of giving together,” Fortuna recalled. Fast-forward to COVID-19 and the world changed, people were quarantined at home, yet the need for blood was constant and the duo found a way to keep their friendship and commitment alive. The Central Midwest chapter of the Red Cross hosts a blood drive every Wednesday. Rachel continued to go to the Red Cross location and “one day she said, ‘Come go with me’, Lewis recalled. “And that was the beginning of our story.”
The blood buddies have created a tradition, of holding each other accountable and relying on the support that comes from their friendship and willingness to help others. “We cheer for her (Fortuna) iron to be high enough to give and we cheer for me to beat my previous record of being a speedy giver,” Lewis said with a smile.
“And I think having a buddy makes it easier too, you know when I’m like yeah I don’t know I don’t feel up to it or whatever's going on in my life,” Fortuna said thoughtfully.
“Well, we have fun together and everybody at the center is a lot of fun and we bounce off each other and have fun and be lighthearted back in the room because the idea of being stuck with a needle is not bad when you’re laughing and having fun and you know it’s for a good cause,” Lewis said.
A good cause they both believe in; Fortuna’s family has needed blood for various reasons. “Giving blood is deeply personal to me,” she said. “There are people close to me who have received blood because of pregnancy issues, cancer treatment and surgical complications.”
Looking back in her own way, Fortuna carried out her youthful dreams of making an impact in the world and brought her best friend with her. “Four or five times a year it takes 45 minutes, it doesn’t hurt, and it makes you feel you are making a difference in the world even if you’re not curing or creating something new, you can do something for somebody else,” she said.
Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. When you roll up a sleeve to donate, you help change a life. This bimonthly date gives the duo a deeper bond to themselves and to folks they’ll most likely never meet.
“We’ve seen each other juggle the ups and downs life brings and are here for each other to offer a kind word and a hug, I love how we give together and I love the fun we have doing it and can share something bigger than ourselves,” Lewis said proudly.
To make an appointment, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
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