Shannan Wolf
When Shannan Wolf was just 11 years old, doctors told her parents that she wouldn't live to see 14. But she surprised them, and many others, too. Twenty-five years later, she works as a certified nurse's assistant and is a proud wife and mother of two teenage daughters, Shayla and Saunique.
"I've kind of beaten all the odds," says Shannan. "Thanks to the Red Cross nurses, the doctors and most of all God. I believe there is a reason for everything."
When she was just five years old, Shannan was diagnosed with Familial Hypercholesterolemia—too much "bad" cholesterol (LDL) in her blood. She has been receiving treatment ever since.
Today, she is on a low cholesterol diet and medication. She goes every two weeks to the Lied Transplant Center to have a therapeutic procedure performed by the Red Cross. Shannan's blood is taken out of one arm, run through a machine that removes the "bad" cholesterol, and then returned to her through the other arm. She has been having this treatment performed by the Red Cross since she was 11 years old. Her parents would drive her from their home in Curtis, Nebraska, to Omaha every three weeks for her treatment.
"I've been inspired by Red Cross nurses," says Shannan. "They've been really good to me. I'm thankful. If I didn't have this type of treatment, I wouldn't be alive today."
As a result of the disorder, Shannan had open heart surgery in 1994. Depending on how things go, she may need to have other surgeries in the future. She sees a doctor every three to six months to keep everything in check.
"I love the Red Cross. I see the other things they do and it's amazing."