Welcome to Adahlia’s Adventures!

Adahlia, Ming Ming (her school mascot) and I take a trip to the beach.

It’s the Fall Equinox - and everything is in balance.

What better time to start Adahlia’s website?

Here, we’ll post some serious (and hopefully inspiring) medical updates, a spattering of silly stories, and plenty of adventures. We’ll talk about Diamond Blackfan Anemia and why it’s so incredibly important to find a safe cure for these rare kids. We’ll encourage you to go for those dreams of yours, to keep slogging when you’re feeling down.

And we’ll celebrate Life.

Ever since I discovered that Adahlia’s life was on month-to-month allotment (how could it be???), I was determined to make her experiences as wondrous as possible.

I had wished such a different life for my baby. Certainly not one filled with medical trauma and medication. I couldn’t explain to my infant why I had to allow nurses to hold her down and poke her with IV needles. But, as a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, I *could* use gentle therapies and restorative nutrition to help her clear trauma, absorb both food and experience, and thrive. I filled her life with support, play, purpose, and love.

As the years passed, I found her spark unquenchable, her spirit immutable.

I believed (and still do) in the power of Love.

I believed (and still do) that miracles happen.

And I know that some miracles are the sort we make - together.

From kiddie concerts to playgrounds to nature to Children’s museums - as we moved from Portland, Oregon to Longmont, Colorado to Kansas City, Missouri and then to Columbia, South Carolina (and now we are headed back to the West Coast for bone marrow transplant!) - our lives became an adventure.

We’ve made so many amazing friends.

And experienced many zany, ponderous, hilarious, and frightening things.

But it’s always interesting.

And it is often magical.

Just imagine…

Imagine someone you love has come to visit from the Stars. You didn’t realize you already loved them, but you do! And you are SO happy to be with them. When they arrived, you assumed they would stay a long, long time. But no - their visit will likely be much shorter. How much shorter? Hmmm. Hard to say. You definitely have 3 weeks with them, though.

What would you do?

If you are like me, you would make their life an adventure. You’d show them everything brilliant, dazzling, and fabulous about this place called Earth. You’d share everything you love and know about Life with them. You’d want them to taste, touch, smell, see, and hear EVERY LITTLE THING and soak up the magic. You’d pack a lifetime into each year.

And you’d refuse to give up. Giving Life would become your life. It would feel like a sacred calling.

So it was for me then… and so it is for me now.

May you find something worthwhile here, something beautiful. May it restore you and empower you to do what only you can do.

With love, Erika (Adahlia’s mom)