Ohio woman meets blood donors who helped save her life

VIOLET TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WCMH) – In a rare Red Cross event, a central Ohio woman got to meet some of the blood donors who helped save her life.

The event was called an Everyday Heroes Celebration, which brought together many of the people who helped Robin Sharps get through the fight of her life. Last summer while recovering from a leg injury, she developed blood clots. She went into cardiac arrest three times and said her doctors gave her a slim chance of survival.

“I am living testament,” Sharps said. “It is a miracle I survived everything I did. But part of that miracle was having 114 units of blood on the shelves and available so those doctors and surgeons and the whole medical team could work as hard as they did and never give up because they had those resources available.”

She received 114 units of blood at Mount Carmel East. She met more than two dozen of those donors at the celebration on Wednesday.

“You give us the resources that allow us to do what we do,”  Dr. Al Gora, an Emergency Physician at Mount Carmel East who was part of Sharps’ care team said. “You are as big a member of the team as any of us. We’re all doing a job, you guys answered a calling. You took time out of your busy schedule to provide a resource you knew was needed and could help save somebody’s life.”

The first responders who cared for Sharps and the hospital medical team were also at the celebration. She hosted a blood drive of her own with the goal of collecting 114 units.

“Make your mess your message and I would love for people to go out and donate,” Sharps said.