Chris Clark | Spectrum Health Beat

Lilly gives back after her journey with aplastic anemia

When Lilly was only seven, she began experiencing bizarre symptoms, including a bloody nose that wouldn’t stop and unexplained bruises all over her body. Doctors initially believed she had Leukemia, but after months of testing, Lilly was diagnosed with aplastic anemia — a rare but serious blood disorder that occurs when bone marrow is unable to produce enough new blood cells. Doctors at Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital helped Lilly through years of treatment, including treating her with medications, blood transfusions, and eventually a bone marrow transplant. Lilly is now 18 years old and is in remission thanks to the care she received at her children’s hospital. Lilly is a freshman at Davenport University studying to become a nurse practitioner. She hopes to one day work at the very hospital where she received care. Lilly says she is excited to reunite with some of the familiar faces who supported her through it all, but this time not as a patient, but as a practitioner.