Child suffering from blood disorder needs transfusions to survive

Published On: Sep 10 2013 05:36:46 PM CDT

Little Rina Dek is booming with personality from her enchanting smile and laugh to what her parents call her "bunny face."

She has a way of reeling you in.

“She's very outgoing. Not shy around anybody. I could give her to you and you could walk off with her and she'd say, ‘Bye bye, daddy. See ya,’” said her father Randy Dek.

But what you can’t see is the disease plaguing Rina’s tiny body.

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She was born with a blood disorder called alpha thalassemia and hemoglobin E, which basically means Rina’s body doesn’t produce enough red blood cells, preventing oxygen from reaching her body’s tissues. That can cause weakness, fatigue and more serious complications.

“Every time she gets sick, we have to check her blood count. It's not like you can just wait and tough it out. It's like, ‘OK, we have to go to the hospital and have her blood count checked,’” said Dek.

It’s an inherited, lifelong illness that could require Rina to have blood transfusions any time her blood falls below acceptable levels. That’s why Rina’s dad says blood donors are so important to her survival.

"I just thought, ‘Wow, I really need to do everything I can to get people to donate, because it doesn't just help her. It helps all those other kids at children's hospital and anywhere else you donate,’" Dek said.

"It's not just tragic accidents that require blood. It's children with sickle cell and issues like what Rina has, leukemia patients who need blood transfusions every day,” said Amanda Chittenden of the Blood Center.

And the Blood Center, who is the sole supplier of blood to children’s hospital, needs 300 or 350 pints of blood every day to sustain the need.

"The blood is going to these kids, these other people who have blood disorders,” said Dek.

Every day there’s a new diagnosis, a new face battling a serious illness, but through it all, Rina is keeping a smile on hers as she embarks on the long road ahead.




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