Drias Road to transplant #DriaStrong

On May 1, 2014, AJ and Kayla welcomed Alexandria Sophia into this world, a happy and healthy baby girl. It wasn't until her one year well visit that they started to realize that Dria was not as healthy as once believed. After months and months of unanswered questions and testing, long hospital stays almost two weeks of every month fighting for her life, Dria was diagnosed with Hemolytic Anemia, Neutropenia, Combined Immunodeficiency, and most recently they learned that she does not have a thymus. Most children with these conditions and without the correct treatment will not see past the age of two. With no immune system, no way to fight off illness she must remain in isolation. Isolation means Dria is unable to attend pre-school, her friends can only be virtual, no playgrounds, she is confined to the inside of her house. The only connection to the world outside is driving in the car to go to her endless doctors and lab appointments where she must be very careful and wear a mask. A life none of us wish on anyone let alone a child. The doctors believed she would eventually require a Bone Marrow Transplant to correct these issues, however, without a thymus, a Bone Marrow Transplant would not be the successful. So first Dria requires a thymus transplant. Her extensive team of doctors believe that a thymus transplant is without a doubt the best option to give Dria a chance at building her own fully functioning immune system and a much more normal, healthy life. Although even with the transplant she will still need to be closely monitored by doctors for the rest of her life.

Thymus transplants are only performed at one place in the United States, Duke Children's Hospital in North Carolina. The journey to transplant has been long and tiring for the Cresci family. Dria has had many tests performed to prove that she is an ideal candidate for transplant and thankfully, after a long awaited two years the advisory board approved her for transplant! Financial approval from insurance was also recently obtained and was the last step to be officially added to the list of patients awaiting thymus transplant. At this stage, there is not a set date for transplant. They could be called as soon as January, or it could be a few more months. Either way once Duke University calls and says it is Dria's time, the Cresci family will only be given a two week notice to get to North Carolina, once there they will be expected to stay in North Carolina for a minimum of two months and could be as long as 6 months. They have a long journey ahead of them but remain hopeful and look forward to what the future holds for their family. They are excited to share these shirts with you all and would love for you to wear yours with us on Dria's LIFE DAY - the day she receives her transplant, the day she receives a second chance at LIFE! They will post on Dria's Facebook page (search for DriaStrong) once they get the call from Duke Children's so you will know which day to wear her t-shirt. 100% of the funds raised will go directly to supporting the Cresci family for transportation to and while in North Carolina along with additional medical costs. THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT!