Story as told by Hannah’s mom, Patricia
“Donating blood helps people be able to function, like my daughter Hannah.”
My daughter Hannah was diagnosed with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) on June 24, 2022. She has needed multiple red blood cells and platelet transfusions since starting chemotherapy. There have been times where we had to wait all day for Hannah to receive a transfusion because the blood supply is low. It can be stressful, especially when you're not feeling well.
Hannah is a strong, independent, stubborn, loving, kind, and caring 12-year-old. She is a fighter and a warrior. She loves helping with younger children and can't wait to start babysitting when treatment is over. She loves cheerleading and softball. She wants to learn to play basketball and lacrosse. Her favorite sport to watch is lacrosse and her favorite team is the Buffalo Bandits.
Together our family enjoys going to Buffalo Bandits and Buffalo Bills games, and we also attend WWE events when they come to Buffalo. We love to go to different zoos. Our family dog is named Stu that we adopted through Niagara County SPCA in 2019. Watching movies and finding new shows to watch is something we love doing as a family.
We know the blood banks have been short on blood donations, and so wanted to help get more blood donations by hosting a connection blood drive with ConnectLife as a way to give back and help others. We hope to make this blood drive a yearly event.
“To all of the blood and platelet donors, thank you so much for your donations. Hannah has had to have well over 50 transfusions since her treatment began in June of 2022. She has had 10 platelet transfusions and 7 red blood cell transfusions since mid-February. If it weren't for the blood donations that she received, she wouldn't be able to receive the chemo that she needed to get better. She still has over one year left of treatment. Thank you again for your donations.”
Has Hannah's story inspired you to share your own? Submit your story to be our next hero highlighted as our Blood Donor Highlight here: https://www.connectlife.org/blood-donor-highlight