Athena's Story

Cute and bubbly three year old Athena is in charge in her house and gets treated like a princess by her older brother and sister. Her family have good reason to treasure her, after seeing little Athena get very sick just over a year ago.

At eighteen months old Athena got a nose bleed while at day care. Unlike any normal nose bleed, it wouldn’t stop, and continued for four hours. Not long after that Athena developed a Meningitis-like rash over her body. Her mum, Tammy, tells us that at the doctor’s surgery they could literally see Athena’s platelets bursting before their eyes.

At Waikato Hospital, Athena’s blood count got so low that she needed a transfusion. Her blood count then dropped again. Athena’s parents were told to prepare for the event that she might need a bone marrow transplant, and would need to find a match. The doctors hadn’t seen a case like Athena’s in five years, showing how rare her condition was. Although there was no simple diagnosis, it seemed to be the result of a viral infection. Athena had a second transfusion, reaching a total of 12 hours receiving transfusions.

Athena was in hospital for seven days and stopped eating for much of that time. Because her immunity was compromised, Athena and her family were kept in isolation to protect her. She had so many blood tests that every vein in her little body was used.

It was a scary time for Athena, who understandably hated being in hospital, and a tough time for her parents and siblings too. When Athena’s brother and sister visited her in hospital they saw her bleeding heavily. Tammy says ‘even thinking about it now is horrific’.

Thankfully Athena is now doing well. She’s a happy and outgoing young girl, and a staunch supporter of her daddy’s Rugby League team, the Firehawks. Athena’s mum Tammy had good support from her work colleagues, many of whom have stepped up to become blood donors. Tammy couldn’t be a donor at the time, but wants to give blood soon. ‘Before Athena needed her transfusions I didn’t know the importance of giving blood, but now I can’t wait to become a donor. I will be donating blood along with whanau members when the Blood Service comes to Te Awamutu again later this year, and I hope to join the New Zealand Bone Marrow Donor Registry too.’