Most young kids are afraid of needles.
Even most adults might get a little irritated if they had to sit with a needle in their arm for three hours at time nearly every month.
But two-year-old Emily Stephenson sits there with a smile on her face.
The week she was born, Emily was diagnosed with spherocytosis, a disease that necessitates the need for regular blood transfusions. Emily has had more than 20 since she was born.
Her father, Wayne Stephenson, said Emily is such a trooper that she even inspires those undergoing chemotherapy. She never complains.
“She is an inspiration,” he said. “She is a champ. I thought she would be fighting and screaming, but she is tough.”
In order to help people out there – just like their daughter Emily – who need blood transfusions, the Stephensons are promoting upcoming blood drives. St.Vincent’s Women’s hospital will host a blood drive on Feb. 6 from 9 a.m. to noon. The next day, there will be several locations to donate in Carmel, Fishers, Greenwood, Avon and Downtown Indianapolis YMCA locations from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Giving blood, it’s such as big concept that we thought this would be a good way to put a face to it,” he said.
Wayne Stephenson and his wife Amy both graduated from Carmel High School in 2001 and 2002 respectively. They relocated to Nebraska in 2004 because Wayne is in the military, but most of their family still lives in Carmel so they decided to hold a blood drive in Indiana. They will also be organizing blood drives in Omaha, Neb. The blood drives are meant to benefit all people and not just Emily.
The Stephensons first noticed something was wrong with Emily during the 24-hour check-up when the doctors noticed she was jaundiced. She had her first transfusion on her seventh day.
“It was absolutely terrifying,” he said. “We had never heard of this disease before and the nurses and the doctors tried to explain everything to us but it’s still that initial shock.”
Spherocytosis is a form of anemia where red blood cells are sphere-shaped, rather than bi-concave disk shaped, which causes them to break down easily. Those diagnosed can live happy lives with the disease, but there are some limitations. Emily probably can’t play contact sports and a serious illness could harm her more than other people. But at age 12, she will likely receive a splenectomy. By removing the spleen, that should help prevent many of the weak red blood cells from being destroyed. This would reduce the need for blood transfusions.
Besides the blood transfusions, Emily is just like any little girl. She loves the movie “Frozen” and can sing all of the songs. She loves animals and pizza. She likes to watch Mickey Mouse cartoons when she is sitting during her blood transfusions, just one part of the eight-hour hospital visits this tough little girl goes through every five to six weeks. Her father said he knows she’ll keep her smile.
“There will be lots of times later in life that I’ll be able to tell her that she’s the toughest girl out there,” he said.
