Pulse Nightclub Survivors: How Their Lives Were Saved | ENDEVR Documentary

blood the life force no life can survive without [Music] it we take it for granted until it's taken away from us so I was on the floor and I was holding my stomach and I look and I see blood all over and at the same time I'm on the floor I'm thinking about how do I get out from here the impact made my arm explode and it wrecked like it shouted my whole arm my nervous system was gone and it was just pouring blood pouring blood most of the the huge puddle of blood I was in was mine it was it felt like a lake it was like a lake of blood just flowing out of me all the all the blood I was losing either I was going to bleed to death or I he was going to come again and shoot me every shot I was getting I can feel my body jumping because of the power of the gun I believe while I was jumping I could feel all the Bloods coming out of my mouth and at that moment I mean I would never think I would be here11 this is Joe on record line hi I'm calling because there was a in the nightclub okay sir are you in the bathroom yes okay don't open the door sir stay where you said you hear on the night of June 12th 2016 a lone gunman stormed the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando Florida killing 49 people and critically wounding dozens more what you are about to witness is the untold story of what it took to save the lives of the victims from one of our nation's worst mass shootings they were bleeding to death and so our first priority is to stop the bleeding so that they're not losing blood anymore and then we have to replace the blood that they have lost everybody you know had these huge wounds and you know all we could do was try to control the bleeding which seemed almost impossible you know if those bullets track across arteries veins you know hit vital organs in in the in the abdominal or chest cavities um the amount of tissue destruction is severe and the amount of blood loss is severe it's a matter minutes if we don't get blood into some of these patients in the first minute they will die from the moment we got here it was just continuous go go go have patients with massive amounts of bleeding from just about everywhere you can think of that they've been shot I just remember hearing relentlessly throughout the night is hearing my fellow nurses and everybody saying we need blood get me some blood get me some blood get me some blood cuz then you might go to the core get more blood that's all all we had to do to help these people because that's what they needed so very desperately Orlando Regional Medical Center known as OMC the city's only level one Trauma Center was using their blood supply at a rate like never before so how fast was the blood pumping that night it's quick as we can hang it up there we've got one nurse dedicated to this that as soon as the blood runs out put another one on there and continue to infuse it about as fast as humanly possible we had one patient who in the first 24 hours required over 200 units of blood that's like replacing the blood volume in your body like multiple multiple multiple multiple multiple times other patients required you know additional dozens and dozens of units of blood just to stay alive in the first few hours and luckily we have a refrigerator full of blood right here in the trauma Bay so that we can immediately get blood in literally in 20 seconds be giving life saving blood to a patient but we had gone through it so quickly it was already gone one of my good friends she even ran upstairs screaming that we needed more blood and then she came back down with two handfuls and then we just kept going from there cuz we needed we needed more on a night like that are you worried about running out we certainly knew it was a possibility it's part of what you do when you triage is kind of keep in the back of your mind how much do we have can we get more how how quick can we get it because we were using it at such a prodigious rate the race to save lives was in full force and the importance of the local blood center one blood was about to be put to the test we depend on our blood supplier one blood is our blood supplier and you know we depend on them to get us the product when we need it our plan had always been that if we got short of blood that we would call one blood so that they could send us some and I will tell you when I sat in our Command Center that morning very early and one of the first phone calls we got was one blood a city in lockdown police on the scene with an armed gunman looming a hospital racing to save lives and the one thing they need most is 9 miles [Music] away it's 3:00 in the morning and the third shift team at one blood is about to be tested like never before all the orders from our ageny were coming ding ding ding ding it's that and at the same time we we started calling people to come in my board started appear big orders you know about 10050 units the first reaction was to give them as much blood as they needed because I don't know where this is going to stop or is this just one event or is going to be more is this a terrorist attack I mean we didn't really know anything anything right anytime you see big numbers coming through for a hospital like that um you get a little concerned cuz you don't know how many more are going to come through everybody knew what they needed to do to make this happen they all knew that lives were on the line and they were making it happen well we start to do something we had to work we have well hey you do this and do this we call all cers and we send them one after the other boxes and boxes of blood are packed up and loaded onto Courier Vans to be rushed to OMC but getting the blood to the hospital was not going to be easy the Pulse Nightclub the crime scene is only three blocks away from the trauma center massive police presence continued streets in and around Orlando were barricaded but the couriers responsible for getting the blood to the hospital knew they had to get through I go to RNC I find all close all streets so I start go around what is the better way I told the police you know I need deliver as soon as possible something blood how I go inside the hospital everything had closed but he see me you know the one blood so he open the doors for me and I go the second floor you see the emergency everybody saving life so one blood kept bringing us additional supplies throughout the morning which saved lives the first delivery of blood went out just after 4:00 a.m. that at night one blood would make eight life-saving trips to the hospital this is a massive operation that people don't even know what's going on we had blood coming in from all over the state the stress level of the team knowing that there's something happening in a hospital is huge I I can walk I run for saving life just only run run it was just very he thick uh blood was coming all this here was filled up with boxes from one blun we were actually we jumping over the boxes pushing them out of our way to be able but that felt good because we knew that we have the products here we ended up transfusing 441 units of blood uh just that morning it's an immense amount of work just to give one unit of blood to one patient so to do 441 in 24-hour period is um an enormous amount of um not only you know coordination but paperwork and fact or safety checking Etc we had been able to get the blood to the surgeons in a timely manner the outcomes would not have been the same we were so helpless that night I don't know what we would have done if we would not have had that that blood we felt very helpless and very overwhelmed and very scared but I would not have wanted to imagine that night if we would have ran out of blood I just it's hard enough to think about it it is but I would never want to think about it without without blood he's very Oran very important is life one by one victims are rushed to the hospital each suffering from catastrophic injuries I hit the ground and I started to just ask myself what the hell is going on and once I realized what was going on I decided to protect myself because I saw people just falling into the ground and that's when he decided to shoot me four times in the back so he shoots me he shot me four times in my lower back and that's when my arm got on the way of somebody else getting shot and that's when my arm the impact made my arm explode that's I believe that's where I lost most of my blood because it was like gushing out I said to myself calm down because the more you stress the more blood your your heart is going to pump and you know you going lose my blood I was facing down like that but for some reason I I can feel his shadow I can feel him next to me and I mean I don't knew I didn't know what he was going to do but I was just like you know hoping that nothing was going to happen but unfortunately um when he was next to me that's when I fell one of the first one that I got shot in my [Music] back so he shot you once it was that one it was I was shot nine times I was I was shot pretty fast uh I remember I heard the first shot uh the first gunshot and I turned around I ran about two steps and that's when I was shot on my right leg and I fell down and I tried getting back up but that's everyone was just going crazy running around and that's when I was trampled and I heard my uh left femur snap and I couldn't move anymore I remember getting shot again and I just felt I felt my body jumping up and down I just knew I was losing blood so I get on the floor but when I'm on the floor I feel like a heat sensation all over me like if I use the bathroom on myself and that's when I knew I was shot I got shot twice in the stomach there was no turning back there's nowhere to go like I they say your back up bu against the wall we literally were up against the wall like there was nothing there's no Escape there's nothing so it was like this is it like this it I just closed my eyes I said a quick little prayer and clenched my teeth and just said you know just take it my friend who was with us at at the bar he was like uh you know Jeff you've been shot you've been shot I'm like yes I know I was shot in the leg and I didn't want to tell you earlier I want to freak you out and he's like no now you're eing from here and I was like what and I pulled my shirt over and the blood just gushed out at him and was all over the place and it was a pretty freaky scene I felt like I was in a movie I had to get out that's the only thing in my mind was to get out get out get out that's when the cops started to enter the through the patio door and that's a nice signal the cop and I just kept telling him just go go please get me out of here get me out of here and I finally made it outside and he dragged me across the street so I made ey contact luckily with a cop that was at the door and I told him like Hey like I'm alive save me and then I hear someone coming and then they were touching me and they say oh she's breeding she's breeding she's alive let's take her out let's push her getting out of the club was only half the battle the blood loss each of them was suffering was lifethreatening and that's when the nurse grab my head and she was like he's losing a lot of blood he's losing a lot of blood and she asked me permission to do blood transfusion I said yes do whatever you can to save my life at one point I felt my look I was losing sight so it was like like everything started closing in so I'm telling the first I'm I'm I'm going like I'm I'm leaving like I I was scared so he grabbed this two I think it was needles um and he gave me two shots I think it was adrenaline or something and that woke me up again I told him that I can breed anymore you know that I feel like my my body was in like it didn't have no more energy and after that I just I I guess that's when I thought I was dead and I closed my my eyes and then I guess the next day that's when I woke up in the hospital the story of blood loss is no more profound than the scene that is playing out with Jeff and v two best friends trapped in a bathroom stall for nearly 3 hours Jeff was shot multiple times and V was doing her best to keep him from dying wait a minute where's V where's V I was like we we came with v where's where is she he's like I don't know I don't know and he looked over my shoulder and he was like you know there she is she's here with us she's here and she was like are you guys okay oh my God you know she start freaking out like you guys are here like it was a miracle that we were there together and we didn't even know if she was do with us that whole time nobody with her had any medical background or any knowledge so it was just pretty much her and she was uh she became team leader and she asked if I was okay and I looked at her and I remember just nodding my head like no [Music] and that's when she started to improvise and do what she could to help save me I had to do something I couldn't just sit there I don't know so I guess I I was in shock but I got out of shock as soon as I found out he was shot the one that I saw was the one on his neck cuz there was blood just gushing out so I felt like I needed to put pressure on that I just kind of used my hand and I put as much pressure as I can and then I asked if anyone else was bleeding really bad that's around me that can help and there was another Survivor there at the time and his name was Chris MH and that's when I realized Chris was shot in the stomach and so I was just putting pressure on Chris and putting pressure with my other hand on Jeff I was literally like this I I was holding on but I was so so weak from so much blood loss I remember V uh smacking me around a bit a couple of times and hitting me pretty hard just to keep me awake she's like you have to stay with me if you don't stay with me you're gone and and in the end you know she helped uh uh keep us afloat Keep Us Alive you she saved us she helped save myself and Chris until at least until we were rescued me you were a hero that night definitely I don't know if I would call myself that but you are a hero well you saved lives yes but all of that work would have been nothing if there had not been all of that blood just waiting there at Orlando Health for him to arrive and for Chris to arrive and all of these victims this is the hallway leading into the trauma center correct and it was a horrible scene that night we were having about a patient a minute arrive a patient a minute through this hallway into the trauma into the trauma bed every minute every minute so we had 36 victims in the first 36 minutes and those were patients that were all bleeding to death they all needed transfusions they all needed their bleeding stopped uh they needed to go to the operating room so this hallway was basically filled with new patients coming in staff carrying supplies staff carrying blood to replenish what we needed uh so that we could continue doing the work necessary to save lives you ever see anything like this that night no no I I've been involved in in a number of disaster responses around the world I've never seen anything like that morning this hallway never looked like that hopefully never will again hopefully never will ever again good morning I'm Brown there's breaking news at this hour from Orlando when the sun came up the reality of the horror that unfolded inside the Pulse Nightclub was dominating the headlines 53 people were wounded in the pole shooting tonight more than 20 remain hospitalized hello I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington we want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world we're getting new details on the breaking news Moment by moment developments and what will go down as the worst mass shooting in American history and the need to replenish the Region's blood supply was front and center blood is a wonderful gift uh that can all be arranged through the local blood banks a sea of blood donors formed and tens of thousands of people line the streets waiting hours to donate blood all of a sudden one blood found itself intertwined in coverage of this horrific event and blood donation really became an Avenue for people to help and before we knew it thousands of donors began to emerge before our eyes and they literally help replenish the blood supply in record time I think is important that we the whole Community comes together and tries to help out where it's needed trying to do my part in order to help those who were affected and trying to help the victims their families whatever I can do I I'm just overwhelmed by just the outpour of people coming here you know today to do this while all of this was going on in front of the cameras behind the scenes at one blood it was another story massive amounts of blood coming into the lab all needed to be processed and tested it was all hands- on down we are always busy um we are processing blood 247 holidays we are here um at 2:00 a.m. in the morning the majority of our products are coming in ensuring safe blood is available when and where it's needed is a massive around the-clock effort every unit of blood that is donated will end up here at the biologics facility where it will be processed at the same time testing is taking place to ensure the blood is safe donations that pass testing will move on and will be raced to hospitals by couriers to help save lives it's almost 2 a.m. in the morning I'm heading out to Orlando Regional Medical Center it's my second run for tonight we're always going to the hospitals we have so many hubs that we have to go to it's nonstop the blood is being moved as as we sleep at night and during the daytime it's it's it never stops it's non-stop movement of the blood because there it there's always a need whether it's night or day we we received um you know during the the time right after the shootings um we collected over 28,000 units of blood and um 5 days later 85% of those units were already at a hospital and transfused we we didn't have it anymore as quickly as the units come in they get processed and they were shipped to a hospital uh the turnover of a unit of blood from the the time of arrival to the time that we deliver it to a hospital could be as short as 36 hours and probably as long as 4 days we don't keep blood that long because there's always a need for use the team was working as fast as possible to process all of the blood that was coming in right after the shooting and that is when the tragedy hit even closer to home for the blood center they discovered that a beloved team member was among the victims for the local Blood Bank the cruise there who pulled out all the stops literally working 24 hours a day to help save the victims the massacre inside the Pulse Nightclub became tragically personal I I took like a 30 second time and just say a prayer because you know you really I really didn't expect that it was going to be so close it was just a consistent wave of emotions and you know his office was there his jacket was still on his chair in his office like you still had like emails up from him so it was very quick for everything to get turned upside down we were um torn between our emotions and everything that was happening and just like grieving for the loss and just like trying to um that's what he loved to he loved saving lives so we just that that was our encouraging words to ourselves and telling each other you know hey if Ro was here we have to keep pushing and you know what he's looking down on us he's proud of us we're working to save other lives that people are in [Music] need in the darkest of times blood donation brought hope and it became a focal point of a community standing United and at the same time it serves as a wakeup call as to why the blood supply in every city across the nation is so vital because we simply do not know what tomorrow holds and for that reason the blood supply cannot be taken for granted we're seeing over the years an increase in the number of these mashed casualty uh incidents uh gunshot wounds bombings all require a lot of blood in order order to save patients lives so without that collaboration between trauma center and blood bank that blood will not be available when it's needed and those people will die those patients will die when you think about it blood donors really are the first First Responders because they do their part days before the blood is ever needed to save lives so the people that we treated that night their lives were saved not by the blood donors that lined up the next day but by the people that donated one one or two weeks prior that had no idea that an event would like this would occur and these are the people that had much of a part in their recovery as we did as much a part in saving their lives and they're just as much of a hero as any of us [Music] are Dimitri a husband father and owner of a children's clothing store in Orlando Florida decided to donate blood for the very first time just days before the pulse tragedy when I walked off the bus I got off I looked at the bus I thought it was cool that I that I finally donated blood I was proud of myself for doing it I even sent my wife a picture saying that I donated blood and that was really the last time I thought about the blood that I donated he didn't know it at the time but just Days Later his blood donation would help save a victim of the pulse tragedy uh I got a call from one blood telling me about this and I was driving I had to pull over to process uh what I'd heard it's hard to hear it because it brings everything back as far as what I I had done you know it was as simple as as making a bank deposit it was as simple as dropping off an envelope at the post office you don't think that that thing thing is going to you don't think that that thing is going to impact someone in the way that it does it's still difficult to put in words of of of of the thoughts that went through my head um and trying to piece it all together that somehow something that I did that was so insignificant was so important to somebody else Heather has been donating since high school when she saw the news of the pulse tragedy her first thought was to go and donate blood it was really moving to see everybody come together as a community and I was actually going to donate the day after but I had donated I think like the week before so but she wanted to do something to help I was one of the people that went down and helped barricade at the the pulse funerals with the angels I was down there with them Heather stood watch with thousands of other people in what was known as the human chain a group shielding protesters away from the funerals of the pulse victims the human chain was something that I thought would help me connect to the situation but she would come to learn that she had another connection to the pulse victims finding out months later that my blood actually went to a Survivor was amazing because it it really solidified that I was a part of something bigger you know as far as donating blood my blood saved somebody's life that could have been lost that night it it's Unthinkable I mean when you find find out something you as simple as your blood saves somebody's life in a tragedy like that is amazing Allan a lifelong Blood Donor who moved to Orlando from Quebec Canada donates on a regular basis and I walk by here and I saw that I saw the big sign Want Blood I said wow what is that I went inside because I like to donate blood and I've donate blood in Quebec I like to um to do some some good thing for the community and uh doing this it's I feel so good inside you know little did he know that a donation he made just days before the pulse tragedy helped save the life of a pulse Survivor my son post a um a Facebook uh page and to uh to to tell everyone that uh is Dad donate blood after the massacre but he didn't know that I gave blood before it and when I call him a month ago to tell him the for me it's a good news he was so happy and so proud of his dad that he he wrote a very nice Facebook page and I was so happy to to uh to see that it's uh overwhelming you know it's a it's a it's so nice to when uh you call me I was so happy it's the it is the um the the foundation of uh doing this it's to help people that's his thing a now he Victoria's life revolves around family and [Music] Faith there's nothing better than getting the whole family together for a big meal she also believes in giving to others when the big red bus rolled up to her church she was the first in line I think that it's in all of us to want to help someone and if you know that doing something that doesn't cost you anything but a little bit of time can help someone particularly to that magnitude that you can help save someone's life that that's reward enough that's encouragement enough to go out and do that so she donated before the pulse tragedy not knowing that her blood would help save the very life of a pulse victim when I found out that my donation helped to Save a Life from the pulse it really really made it real it connected the dots because I've done it several times I've taken my daughter with me where she saw me doing it before she was of age and now she does it and you tell yourself you saved you know oh I'm helping three people but when I was told specifically that I saved a life from the pulse that's what made it real and it made me excited and looking forward to the next time that red bus was at my job that I was going to make SE certain that I was there there's nothing I think greater than to think that something you did Sav someone's life is allowing them to see their family again to play with their children you know to to just live that's like the ultimate that's what I feel that I'm here for is to help people and if I can say that I helped to save someone's life you can do it you have a little bit of time go ahead and do it like I said it doesn't cost you anything but the reward from doing that is immeasurable so I've been given a second chance and it's because of that because of that big part of people that donated blood I'm here right now I'm going to be toally grateful like there's no other way to say that this you know it's opened my eyes it's opened my family's eyes and I hope it opens the world to donate blood a million thank you to everybody that donated cuz without them there wouldn't be a BRI right now I even tell my mom to this day I was like it's crazy how I have someone else's blood inside of me instead of my own to save these five pulse survivors it took more than 60 blood donors some survivors needing more transfusions than others to live Jeff required what is known as a mass trans transfusion in the end it took 42 blood donors to save his life it's amazing that there was that much for me from other donors of my own kind you know of my own blood type ilka needed 11 blood transfusions that's 11 blood donors who gave before the tragedy to save her life thank to all these people that take their time to donate blood they never think how many people they can let they can help and they can actually survive you know and I'm I'm just blessed to be one of them nearly a year after the tragedy their resolve and determination to heal remains a driving force I just saw Dr L for last week for my appointment that I have and I mean there not a day that I go there and they always so happy to see me how I'm you know moving on doing my thing I thought have therapy so I the week and I can do my arm better but I can feel like every time I throw it's getting better you know it's just I mean it's not how I want to do it you know but I feel like my body is getting stronger and I mean when I started I couldn't do anything I mean this is from zero to I could say like eight you know I mean I can go up to here now so it's a big Improvement for me never thought it was going to take me this long you know but I'm just grateful that I can be finally I can throw a ball you know and I know hopefully soon I'll be able to go back to play my sports but is what I want to do the [Music] most so of course the gym is a priority now I'm I'm very proud of myself to to see how how far I've gone the most recent surgery we did was to kind of change out uh this screw started to as as this heels it backs up a little bit to compress and uh he's so thin that the screw stuck out so I told him to either get fatter or we'd have to change out the screw so you know it brings a lot of Happiness a lot of positivity you know you seeing how your body can can go back to what it was before and you know just seen the Improvement know it you know it helps me move forward as well and stay happy so we're seeing the progressions in the Right Places I cannot wait until we get both feet flat on the ground so that we can really kind of transform him into Angel 2.0 is a is what we like to call it they have renewed purpose and goals they're what's important to me in life my family I'm a family guy I my life has revolved around my brothers and sisters my nieces mom and you're going to school and went school to be a nurse okay tell me how this happened I've always wanted to go in the medical field always since I was a little kid and um when I was in the hospital the nurses in there were amazing the whole staff was was amazing amazing and that influenced me to go you know what Brian get up you need to do something with your life because your life almost ended and you haven't met the goals that you want to meet and that's you know life is too short so I said let me get my stuff together and and go back to school and become someone and show everybody yeah I went through this tragedy but they're at the end of the tunnel it was positive hi how you doing oh my God I'm so excited look I'm just happy you know to be here and be able to celebrate with my family and my friends they celebrate being alive and are fighting their way back always be a warrior you know show the people that we're going to move on that we could do it you know even though we've been through hell and it's like starting again like you were born again but I mean Life is Beautiful determined to be the light for others you have to keep going you can't just give up you can't just stop if you don't keep going you're going to fall if you fall just get up again and keep going that's the main thing you know I'm staying as positive as I can you know reaching out to as many people as I can sharing my message of love hope and positivity you know I'm doing a lot of public speaking now as well now with you guys as well which is I'm very excited for being an advocate for one blood and simply grateful to be alive I want to enjoy life to the fullest and I always thought of that anyway before but now more than ever you know and you know move forward with everything and don't let time pass you by just keep it moving and travel see the world get out there do everything you want to do you only live once a year after the tragedy V and Jeff meet the chief trauma surgeon from OMC V recognized for her heroic acts and shares her determination to one day be a trauma doctor it's been a long time I've been really really really excited and it's an honor to meet you wow it's an honor to meet you all you you went through the event I I wasn't there that's what I went to school for is to exactly help people I just didn't think it was going to happen like that exactly you never know and thank goodness that you were there yeah stop stopping the bleeding is is the key you don't have to have much obviously you didn't have any equipment first you don't have to have your hands and that's what you use it inspires me because one day I want to be able to work that was like my dream is to work at OMC and give back and uh that's your dream that's that's what youve always wanted to do and you've kind of already done some of it without even having graduated you already started you the right person was there the right time at the right time with the the knowledge to be able to just use your hands yeah to be able to stop bleeding you ended up saving two people two people very nice very nice it's been eight months and these survivors and friends are seeing each other for the first time since the tragedy oh my God I'm so happy to see you it's like seeing a long lost brother that you haven't seen in years that's how it feels you said you didn't want to let go you couldn't stop hug at him yeah cuz he's the only Survivor that I that I know like that everybody else I don't know how they look like or anything cuz I I try to stay away from everything but when I was in the hospital I asked people for him I was like how's Angel how's Angel he even sent me was some flowers I sent him flowers yeah I was like I can't go to his room I'm I wanted to I wanted to go visit him but I couldn't walk or anything they were like no Brian you can't go so this is the first time I I see him since then I just wanted to give him a big hug cuz what he's going through I'm going through so I understand his pain and his worries everything that he's going through so I just wanted to give him a big hug powerful voices determined to turn pain into Purpose By becoming blood donation Advocates sharing their stories to inspire others and help save lives and I really hope that people really listen to this message and listen to us because honestly if it wouldn't be for that blood we wouldn't be here and we all thankful extremely because we are here it's needed you know it doesn't matter who you are where you come from um you know go and donate and see if you are a candidate if you are a candidate that's great because you are going to be helping someone else you know you'll be helping you know someone else helping save someone else's life and when they learned that 33% of the people that lined up to donate blood after the tragedy were firsttime donors it ignites the desire to help even further imagine you know spreading this message and this campaign can do like I'm I'm actually very excited about this so if without us even using our voices for the event at the time uh we brought in a 33% increase so that's for that so we hope that this succeeds and it spreads the message so I just hope that people take this serious and start helping more people because we can save a lot of life you don't qualify you can find someone like you said to qualify for you just it doesn't matter blood is blood and it's needed many of their own family members are joining the cause some donating for the first time I am very happy that I made it it's the first time in my life that I give blood but I feel that I am saving life right now saving life cuz if it wouldn't be for I blood I don't know if my son would have make it I'm happy actually um I didn't know that she never donated until a few days ago I'm like Mom so you know I'm very happy that she's able to do it and she you know she was very nervous but I told her it's okay you know you know think of me think of the people that you know saved my life thinking that somebody was doing it for my son and now I'm doing it for somebody else just appreciate it I am so blessed so blessed and sitting next to her officer Omar Delgado who rescued her son from the Pulse Nightclub also donating for the first time I feel like a rookie first time ever donating blood uh here so it's an amazing feeling a lot of donors actually saved a lot of people's lives at night and we're amazing feeling knowing that that you know we can now pay it forward as I S as I lay here and you know donate blood and hopefully my blood helps somebody down the line if it wasn't because of my brother went through this situation I would probably never donate and now that I see the bigger picture I regret not donating before and just because the fact that he's alive I could do it all over again over and over that's what I would do people need to know first of all that donating blood is not something small it's not about getting two free movie tickets it's about seriously saving lives when the time comes that it's needed they even made a stop at one blood to see firsthand the massive undertaking involved to ensure blood is available and they heard what it was like when the ORD started coming through the night of the tragedy as soon as they realized the the magnitude of the event they started calling [Music] us a humbling experience in learning what it took to save their lives what did you think it was amazing it was awesome awesome I love it no idea how much work was put in definitely something like this yeah I would never expect any of that stuff did you realize that was happening 24 hours a day no at all and just like us that we don't know no one knows no what goes on in a place like this so that's important that we're showing you know that we're doing this for people that like us we didn't know how much effort was put into this and how important it is not only was it cool um for us to meet the some of the staff here today but for them it was also cool to meet us because they don't always see the recipients of the blood and I thought that was pretty cool from their perspective because they they're like this is not normal for us we don't see whoever who the blood goes to so that's pretty cool that that actually had to meet a handful of people that they helped save and a thank you is not enough so they will speak and I will be just like thank you but that thank you fell so short you know that's why when everything when we had the I went and I hugged them and I thank them for everything that they you know we wouldn't be here right now talking to you guys they thank the team for what they did a gathering that left few dry eyes an emotional Journey that is about to come full [Music] circle so here's the question are you ready to meet your yes nearly a year to the day of the tragedy several of the survivors are about to come face to face with blood donors who help save their [Music] lives in the ey so happy to me to Angel how are you how you doing [Applause] you forever connected to the people in this room we're all big family now right so how did you feel when you saw them walk through that door oh they made me so happy I felt so wonderful because I made it different I say the this is what I feel is life because when I come here my thought is if I can help somebody along the way my living is not in vain when I saw what happened on the news that day I wanted I wanted to do something I wanted I wanted to be able to contribute some way to help you know like a lot of people I you the community came up together because of what happened and I wanted to do something you know honor and then when I found out that this had already happened I was so happy I was like oh man I already actually did do something feel proud you know love you guys I'm glad you made it yeah it's very emotional to see him you know it makes it real what I actually did I'm so happy they made it I I guess it it really it's become personal today you know um all too often in the face of of tragedy it seems that that we feel helpless and that we uh that we try to use our words that we say our thoughts are with you our prayers are with you uh we're sorry for your loss but those words ring Hollow and we just want to be able to do something to be able to help and today is a reminder that there is a way a way to actually do something in help it does make a difference it helps people God bless uh it's overwhelming and um to see these three handsome men walk through the door today and so vibrant so happy so healthy um that the credit really goes to you for the fight that you've endured and the courage that you put up and I always wondered where this Blood was going when Susan called me and asked me to come to Orlando I didn't understand what she meant she said your blood was you to Saed gentlemen I said give blood for 50 years and what I great feeling to know that you've given something to somebody and Save Somebody I love you all and I wish you the best thank you you guys are pretty much the unsung heroes and you guys are Heroes all of you cuz we wouldn't be here without you this day is a special day I will never forget you know cuz I met my new brothers and sisters you guys and you guys are now part of our family and we truly from the bottom of our hearts want to thank you and we truly love you guys this has been so amazing meeting all of you and thank you so much from the bottom of my heart for everything you did every time you we saw them change that bag of blood you're just wow another bag and then you wonder where' that come from um thank you because you don't have to donate blood you you do it cuz you want to thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart thank you um if it wasn't for you all of you my son would be here he wouldn't be here so I thank everybody um and am so grateful I thank God I thank God I just wanted to say that this is proof that um it doesn't matter what your background is your race ethnicity what country you're from what color your skin is it doesn't matter because at the end of the day your blood is blood and it brought all of us here together and everyone here is from different cultures different backgrounds different you know ethnicities and and it's amazing how uh something like this can bring the world together and and it's an you know people need to open their eyes a little more I think we're more alike than we think [Applause] so from tragedy emerges a lesson that the power to save lives can be found running through your veins there is no substitute for blood every 2 seconds someone needs a blood transfusion it's needed every day in every city around the world you never know when it could be you or a family member in desperate need of blood blood donors keep families together and give people a second chance at life a simple act that is so vital [Music] [Music]

Channel: ENDEVR

Views: 40,689

Keywords: Free documentary, documentaries, full documentary, hd documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), Business Documentary, pulse nightclub, orlando shooting, pulse nightclub shooting, pulse nightclub shooting 2016, pulse nightclub documentary, pulse nightclub survivor, donate blood, lifeline, one blood, blood donation documentary, one blood 2022

Id: oKOBW1G04T4

Length: 52min 21sec (3141 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 28 2022