LARGO, FL -- We all know that blood drives are common and very important, but have you ever wondered what is behind many of them?
One Largo girl who is about to undergo a very long and serious surgery. She is putting a face on the need to donate blood.
10-year-old Sami looks like your typical young girl, rocking out to a video game with her friends.
What you don't see are the two holes in the side of her head.
Sami was born with a rare disorder where doctors had to expand her skull so that her brain could grow.
"That means her skull keeps calcifying and growing back together, so when her brain grows, her skull can't expand to compensate for brain growth."
She's getting ready for her sixth surgery, this time at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.
The surgery is important so Sami can run and play like any other kid without the fear of getting hurt.
"Just hit her in the right spot in the head and that's that."
She also wants to better fit in among her peers.
"They start making fun of me for no reason, because I have a scar on my head and they say what happened to your eyes? Are they like deformed or something?"
The surgeons will repair her eye orbit, which will help change her appearance.
The surgery is expensive, and while insurance will pay for most of it, "I pay $850 a month for health insurance then, I have a $10,000 deductible on top of that."
The state may help with her cost, but Sami will also need massive amounts of blood, so her friends at Mildred Helms Elementary School, along with Florida blood services, will hold a blood drive later in May.
"I was just very happy to hear that people actually care about me and they want to support me."
Blood Drive for Sami Romain
Mildred Helms Elementary School
Wednesday May, 27h
12:30pm to 4pm
1-800-68-BLOOD
