Diamond Blackfan Anemia ~ agápē

I am willing to bet that none of you have even heard of the term used in the title of this post. Diamond Blackfan Anemia. What is it? It is a rare blood disorder that (scientists predict) comes from genetics. If you contain this blood disorder, then you are one of the couple hundred of people in the world whose body does not produce any red blood cells. For some reason, your body is incapable of producing blood cells, which makes life a weeeee bit difficult... Don't yah think?

My sister, Mia, was born with this blood disorder. Mia is a living and breathing miracle. Here is her story:

When Mia was first born, she was as healthy as could be. She was a bit petite, but all of her tests came back positive and so she was sent home after a few days in the hospital. When she was about a month or two old, it was almost time for her routine checkup. Her appointment was set for a date that did not work for my parents due to their work schedules, so it was moved to a week earlier than it should have been. Mia started to turn pale and weak; all she wanted to do was sleep. When my mom took her to the doctor, they saw immediately that there was a problem. The doctors took blood tests and the tests all came back with terrible results, so my mom rushed Mia to the emergency room at Banner Desert Hospital. They gave Mia her very first blood transfusion and they also ended up finding out she was one of a few who have Diamond Blackfan Anemia. Doctors say that if her appointment was not changed to a week in advance, Mia would not be here with us today.

Since then, Mia has had 126 blood transfusions and has been on and off of many different types of steroids. She is the strongest little girl I know. Mia is a true inspiration to me and many others, and she has already impacted so many lives. Today, she is 12 years old, and is soon to be entering jr. high school. Yesterday, she had her 126th blood transfusion, and I am so proud of her.