It started with a headache. Olivia Brown, then 9 years old, was at the Sunsplash water park in Roseville with her mother, Katie Brown.
“She’d never had a headache,” Katie said. “And then all of a sudden, she had a headache.”
It lasted for days and ended with vomiting. And it kept coming back. Katie knew something was wrong. And it was.
In the center of Olivia’s brain was a tumor the size of a walnut. It wasn’t cancerous, but it also wasn’t operable. Olivia needed chemotherapy.
And she couldn’t get through that without blood transfusions because chemo lowers blood counts.
Among those stepping in to help was the American Red Cross, which provided regular transfusions for Olivia, who is now 11 and doing well. She’s among the millions who receive blood products nationally each year from the organization.
“We need blood all the time,” said Gary Strong, the chief executive officer of California’s Gold Country Region. “The supply of it really ebbs and flows.”
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