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Bridle Ridge 113 Appaloosa, 1999, 3/2, 1809 sq. ft., $147, 000. Relocating. Must sell. Call 361-212-0393.
However, she started feeling fatigued in mid-April. Little purple dots appeared beneath her skin and she experienced abnormal bruising.
When doctors diagnosed the Hallettsville teenager with leukemia on May 2, she felt shocked.
“Everybody was a basketcase,” Paige said.
Mom Holly Haas, a cosmetologist, thought of a million things in her distress. Dad Robbie Haas, operator, walked around in a stupor.
“When you think you’re healthy, cancer is the last thing you think you’re going to have,” Paige said.
She found out just before her Hallettsville High School graduation. The night of her graduation party, her family threw a head-shaving party where six people shaved their heads as Paige lost her hair.
After her first chemo treatment, Paige went into remission – no more leukemia. But she still needs five to six more treatments and blood transfusions.
So, family and friends threw a blood drive and car show on Saturday in the AutoZone parking lot at 4303 N. Navarro St. Paige received credits for blood donated in her name and the drive helped supply 107 donations to all patients.
“We exceeded our goal,” said Tracy Sommer, donor recruitment assistant director with the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center.
Mom and Dad both donated, along with Paige’s friends and cousins.
The news of Paige’s leukemia upset cousin Kristen Turek, co-coordinator of the drive with friend Kyndell Brandt.
“It hit me right away,” Turek said. “It is what it is.”
“It is what it is,” Paige reiterated. “You just got to deal with it.”
She plans on attending Blinn College in Schulenburg in the spring, delaying college one semester. While she can’t go out and party like other 18-year-olds, she keeps a positive attitude. Paige said if you think you will get better, you will.
“I never thought I was going to die,” she said. “Just appreciate your health and the cards God has dealt to you.”
Tara Bozick is a reporter for the Advocate. Contact her at 361-580-6504 or tbozick@vicad.com.