Priscilla has pre-leukemia. She is only 2 years old. Most patients with her condition are elderly. She needs help now! Medical care for orphans in her country does not bode well for her survival rate. If she is adopted, she could get bone marrow transplants and other treatments that would reduce her odds of degenerating to acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) within months or a few years.
I see Priscilla in a few years going to school, the regular visits to the Children's Hospital a distant memory. She is still struggling with issues related to her FAS, though. Her short-term memory is very poor, which means that she needs extra help to function in day-to-day routines at home and at school. Her parents and teachers are working with her on impulse control, as well. She is very friendly and outgoing, though, and takes her challenges head-on each day. Learning to read and write, once mastered, opens up new worlds for Priscilla. She can take notes to help her remember her lessons, and discovers that journaling gives her an outlet for all the suppressed memories of her early struggles. Her poems and short stories are published in children's magazines, boosting her self-esteem. What a glorious life, for a child whose diagnosis is directly correlated to death within a few years if left untreated!
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