An Unexpected Surprise

As one of Dairyland’s first employees, Sherry has been with us for the long-haul, building and preparing our products before they’re shipped all over the globe. She is one of the kindest, cheeriest individuals you will ever meet and we’re so grateful to have her on our team. Recently she shared her story of living engaged through meaningful volunteering.

Sherry remembers when she first considered being a blood donor. “Before I gave blood,” she says, “I thought ‘I don’t even know if my blood is good enough.’” “What if something is wrong with it?” she wondered. Despite her worry, she went to see if donation was feasible. When the results returned, she discovered that, not only was there nothing to worry about, her blood type is classified as “rare” and crucial for saving newborn babies.

Sherry has an O- blood type and, additionally, has CMV Negative status. This enables her blood to be used universally (O- blood can be utilized by all other blood types). Not only that, but that blood is absent of the relatively common cytomegalovirus (CMV), which newborns, pregnant women, and some other vulnerable patients cannot be exposed to.

As a mother of 3 and lover of babies, Sherry is encouraged that she can play a small part in protecting their lives. “To go from worrying to knowing they want to use it for babies makes me feel so good – [think about] the future ahead of them!” In the wake of numerous shortages, she has “traveled” hundreds of miles away to meet needs across the United States.

Today she even connects these dots to her grandfather. He was born on January 11th in NE Wisconsin within the walls of their family’s 1-room cabin. At the same time that he prematurely entered the world, their community was building a dam which temporarily brought a doctor to the area – a very rare occurrence for that rural area. Her grandfather barely survived – and wouldn’t have if the doctor had not been present – but they tenderly rested him in a warming box on top of the wood stove and fed him milk through a dropper until his tiny 3 pound body began to respond and grow. “If he hadn’t lived, I wouldn’t be here today,” says Sherry. That knowledge makes her grateful for the technological advances we’ve made, the generosity of others to protect vulnerable lives, and way she too can participate in it.

You might think your contribution is small and insignificant, but even seemingly little acts can make a lasting difference. What do you have the power to influence and transform for the good of others?