"Miracle Baby" Violet

How does a tiny newborn beat enormous odds? With blood from Rhode Island Blood Center donors and the teams at Women & Infants' and Hasbro Children's Hospital caring for her during the first few precarious months of her life. 

Violet Graney came into the world with a fast growing and extremely rare tumor that turned out to be cancerous. The day she was born, says Violet's dad Dan, "She lost so much blood, I couldn't tell her from the white sheets." Having received four full body blood transfusions the very first day of her life, an amount doctors say they've never transfused into a baby and had them survive, Violet underwent emergency surgery and was stabilized. Soon after, she began cancer treatments at Hasbro that also required her to have blood products, including platelets, red cells and plasma, almost daily for the next four months.

Violet's parents Dan and Angela say people tell them their little girl is nothing less than a miracle. Dan says, "I don't know what it was -- God, science, magic, or what -- all I know is she's here and healthy now and that's all I care about. We just want her to be happy and enjoy life." That's exactly what this lively little 19-month old with an infectious grin is doing...cancer free! 

Angela, says, "If there's one thing we can instill in Violet and her brother and sister--one thing this has taught us--it is to give back. After beating such odds, people tell her she is destined to do great things. We just want her to be a good, loving human being. If she does that, she will have met all of our hopes and dreams."

One thing's for sure, patients like Violet who need blood do not rely on luck; they rely on you to make the time to donate blood and on the doctors and nurses who care for them.