Meet Champion, Carmella & Angelo

For siblings Carmella and Angelo, their bond became lifesaving. At five years old, Carmella was thriving on her soccer team when her parents noticed unusual bruising and red blood dots on her skin. Doctors at Nicklaus Children’s Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute diagnosed her with severe Aplastic Anemia (AA), a rare and sometimes life-threatening condition where the bone marrow doesn’t make enough blood cells. Her only hope was a bone marrow transplant. That’s when Nicklaus Children’s discovered her little brother Angelo, just three years old, was a perfect match, and his simple “yes” to helping his sister turned him into her hero. The transplant was successful, giving Carmella a second chance at life. Today, Carmella is seven and back on the soccer field, and Angelo is four, thriving in school. Together, they share an unbreakable bond built on bravery and love