Not many 17-year-olds have a nine-year old friend, but Ashley and Katie have a rare connection. The Florida girls both suffer from bone marrow failure diseases, which have turned their young lives upside down.
Ashley was 15 when she was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia and has since acquired MDS. When Katie got aplastic anemia, she was a tiny ballerina of five who loved having tea parties. The girls’ moms met each other on Facebook – the result of their search for support groups that could offer resources and services and also lift their spirits as they struggled to make sense of the life-altering, life-threatening challenges that were robbing their daughters of a normal childhood.
Both girls needed numerous transfusions to survive and live more cloistered lives to keep them from being exposed to the germs and bacteria common to kids. Ashley is being home-schooled as a precaution. Katie is now in full remission after three years of treatments, but her adoptive parents have been unable to find a bone marrow match for her due to Katie’s multi-cultural heritage.