IN 2016, I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH AN EXTREMELY RARE BLOOD DISORDER KNOWN AS FACTOR VII DEFICIENCY. ONLY 1 OF 200 CASES KNOWN WORLDWIDE! THIS IS A LIFELONG ILLNESS THAT CAUSES JOINTS IN MY BODY TO BLEED AND PREVENTS MY BLOOD FROM CLOTTING. IN EARLY 2017, A LOCAL NEWS STATION DID A FEW TV INTERVIEWS WITH ME AND EXPLAINED TO THE WORLD HOW SPECIAL I WAS. I RECEIVED A LOT OF POSITIVE ENCOURAGEMENT FROM PEOPLE WITH BLEEDING DISORDERS FROM ALL OVER!
THEN, I THOUGHT ABOUT THE OTHER KIDS WHO HAD BLEEDING DISORDERS TOO, AND I WAS SAD. I WANTED TO GIVE BACK THE ABUNDANT LOVE THAT I WAS SO BLESSED WITH TO ALL OF THE CHILDREN EXPERIENCING BLEEDING DISORDERS. IT STARTED WITH SENDING CARDS, THEN DONATING TOYS TO CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS, AND NOW I HAVE MY VERY OWN FOUNDATION TO HELP KIDS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD!