This page is for Alyssa, the strongest young lady I know. Alyssa is a vibrant 17-year-old, high school junior who loves God, her family, and most genres of music. She has an amazing sense of humor and is wise beyond her years. Alyssa was diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anemia at the age of 10 and has been fighting for her health ever since. From the onset of this diagnosis, she has had many hospital stays, biopsies, and doctor visits. To say this journey has been hard would be an understatement, but our faith has kept us strong. 

From the outside looking in, you would never know Alyssa was sick. She tries to never miss a day of school and is very passionate about maintaining all A’s and B’s in her classes. She is a member of the Air Force Junior ROTC and Peer Mediation club at her school. Alyssa also recently got her first part-time job and driver’s permit. Regardless of what she goes through, she is determined to live a beautiful life.  

Severe Aplastic Anemia causes her body not to produce enough new blood cells and her blood cell counts are usually pretty low. The lack of red blood cells can cause her to feel weak, tired, light-headed, and dizzy. Lack of platelets can cause uncontrolled bleeding. And lack of white blood cells can make her susceptible to infections. Because of this Alyssa needs multiple blood transfusions several times a month. She has also had to take many medications as part of her treatment. 

As a family, we have made the hard decision to undergo a bone marrow transplant. We hope that after the transplant Alyssa will be able to live a healthy life, free of sickness and treatments. This would be life altering in all the best ways possible. Alyssa would be free to live her life without limitations and pain. Alyssa plans to go away to college after graduation and pursue a degree in pediatric nursing. She also dreams of getting married one day and having a beautiful family of her own. 

Every donation to COTA in honor of Alyssa will be a seed sown into the dreams Alyssa has for her life. We are thankful for every donation and our prayer is that your lives will be all the more blessed for being a blessing to Alyssa.

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.