In February 2017, Callie was exposed to whooping cough at her daycare. Her family took her to the hospital for treatment. She had her nose swabbed and it came back covered in blood. The doctors assured the family that it was most likely due to irritated sinuses.

Callie’s bloodwork showed a low platelet count. Prior to developing whooping cough, Callie had been developing freckles. These freckles were petechiae which are small little red/purple dots that indicate low platelets.  The following week, they were introduced to a hematologist and he diagnosed her with ITP, a blood clotting disorder.

From February through April, Callie experienced several nose bleeds, large bruises, more petechiae, and her colds seemed to be getting worse and worse.  In April 2017, Callie’s bone marrow biopsy showed AML.

Callie received two regimens of chemotherapy throughout the months of April, May and June. Callie did extremely well during these months. She has so much energy and was so happy and full of life which gave her family hope.

In July, Callie was able to visit home for a week before her bone marrow transplant. When Callie return to the hospital she endured a harsh 10-day chemotherapy regimen to help prepare her body to receive her new stem cells. This was very hard on her body and she became very ill. On July 10th, Callie had her transplant. It took her about 2 weeks to recover from everything. She mostly spelt and depending on a morphine drip to keep her comfortable.

As soon as Callie body engrafted or accepted the new stem cells, Callie’s recovery was remarkable. By the 2nd week of August 2017 Callie was discharged and sent home! Her parents say it was more terrifying than coming home for the first time as new parents.

Callie's hobbies include playing on her Kindle, playing with her "sissy," loving her dog, Yager, and cooking in her kitchen.

Callie hopes to live a long and healthy life and is eternally grateful for her team of nurses and doctors, specifically, Dr. Suzanne Forrest, Dr. Kimberly Davies, and Dr. Michelle Lee. Her family would also like to thank the anonymous donor who bravely donated to Callie and saved her life.