Meet Nyasia: 2017 Speak Now for Kids Family Advocacy Day Hero

Nyasia was just 4 years old when her mother, Yolanda, received an urgent call from her day care. She was vomiting, lethargic and pale. Yolanda immediately took her daughter to Connecticut Children’s Hospital. There, she was diagnosed with pulmonary capillaritis — an inflammatory condition that causes the destruction of the tiny blood vessels that surround the air sacs, called capillaries. Symptoms can include anemia, shortness of breath or even sluggishness.

Talking about that day, Yolanda describes how scary it was, “my baby was suffering; hooked up to IV’s and different doctors were trying to explain what was happening.” Doctors did not believe Nyasia would survive six more months. “It was at that moment I died inside.”

From that point on, Nyasia went through numerous tests, including MRIs and lung biopsies, to help get a handle on her condition. Through it all, Nyasia was determined to fight through it, and prove all the people who said she may only have six months to live wrong.

“Without her doctor Melanie Collins, the caring staff, and [Medicaid] she would've died,” said Yolanda.

Now, 15 years old, Nyasia is described as a hardworking young girl who, even with all the obstacles thrown her way, finds time to care for others and to write music. She knows what she wants for her future — she hopes to get a scholarship to a really good college, go into law, and write a book. When asked what she would write the book about she laughs and says “When you have my life, the stories are endless.”

Help us welcome Nyasia to Washington, D.C.!