When she was 6 years old, Regina was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a condition in which the bone marrow stops making enough new blood cells. This blood disorder makes a person tired and prone to infections and uncontrolled bleeding. Regina was cared for by a medical team near her home in Albany, NY, but when she was 16, she came to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for a procedure that transformed her life — in more ways than one. Today she’s not only healthy, but she’s a second-year medical resident at CHOP. Her decision to pursue becoming a doctor in the field of pediatrics has its roots in the care she received at CHOP as a teenager. 

Hospital visits just part of her routine

Regina’s life after her diagnosis involved managing her illness with blood transfusions and, less often, platelet transfusions. These procedures required long days at the hospital, sometimes as often as every six weeks. The visits often stretched to six hours, which meant missing school and time with friends.

The treatments, however, were just part of her routine. “I would put on the TV, I would bring in homework or play Trouble with my mom,” she recalls. Her father, Mike, remembers how Regina would take it all in stride: “She would say, ‘If we hurry, I can still make it to play practice.” 

Besides the annoyance of the transfusions, the disease didn’t have a significant effect on her. Although her parents could tell when she was looking paler or more tired as she approached the next transfusion, Regina doesn’t remember feeling especially sick. “My body just adapted to having way less blood than normal,” she says. “I never really felt terrible.” Mike notes that sports weren’t recommended, so while Regina’s three sisters played basketball and soccer, “Regina steered her energy toward playing the violin.”

A turn in high school

For many years, Regina remained stable. But as she entered high school, her condition began to change. She needed transfusions more frequently and began requiring platelet transfusions again. Because patients with aplastic anemia can have an increased risk of developing certain types of leukemia, she underwent a bone marrow biopsy. Although she didn’t have cancer, the test results were concerning.

With that shift, her care team explained it was no longer safe or sustainable to continue as she had been. A bone marrow transplant became necessary.

Finding CHOP

Regina’s local hospital in Albany didn’t perform bone marrow transplants, so her family began exploring options. CHOP was included on a short list of possible hospitals around New England and the Mid-Atlantic area.

Their plan was to meet with multiple transplant programs. But after the family met the CHOP team, their decision became clear. “We just had such a good experience that first visit,” Regina recalls, “that my parents were like, ‘We don't need to go anywhere else to even look.’” 

Mike recalls, “Everybody there, from the minute we walked in, had such a level of compassion for what you were going through. This combined with the expertise and experience of the CHOP BMT team gave us the confidence to move forward.”

At age 16, Regina received an unrelated-donor bone marrow transplant at CHOP. She stayed in the hospital for about a month and then lived with her family at the Ronald McDonald House during the required post-transplant monitoring period. Her recovery went remarkably well, with only one brief readmission.

Discovering her calling

Regina didn’t immediately know she wanted to be a doctor. But in high school and college, her love of science grew. She chose to major in biology at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, a move that brought her back near CHOP.

As a sophomore, she reached out to one of the oncologists who cared for her during her transplant — Timothy Olson, MD, PhD. He connected her with the CHOP team working on CAR T-cell therapy, which reprograms the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. Regina worked as a clinical research assistant, first mostly in clerical and data-entry roles, and eventually contributed to some publications. She then received her medical degree from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Why pediatrics?

During medical school, Regina discovered that adult medicine didn’t feel like the right fit. She found herself drawn to pediatrics, not only because she liked working with children, but because she appreciated the role of parents in a child’s medical journey.

She often thinks of her own father, who asked many questions throughout her treatment journey. Her CHOP doctors always took the time to fully answer his questions. That stuck with her.

“I never want parents’ questions to be a burden,” she says. “Their advocacy comes from how much they care. I actually love those interactions.”

Returning to CHOP as a resident

Today, Regina is a second-year pediatric resident at CHOP. Her plan is to go into pediatric primary care medicine, drawn to the continuity, the trust and the relationships built over time.

Working at CHOP has felt like a full-circle moment. As a resident, she sees firsthand what makes the institution special. “CHOP draws in people who are experts in their fields, but also genuinely good teachers and good people,” she says. “You’d never know how brilliant they are from how down to earth they are.”

Her oncologist for her bone marrow transplant, Dr. Olson, remains at CHOP and recognizes her when their paths cross. “He still responds to my dad’s emails checking in on me,” she says. “He’s just one example of how I was treated as a patient and now as a resident.”

Looking back, Regina and her family feel thankful that they chose CHOP — a decision that not only restored her health but helped shape her future. “We chose the right place,” she says. “And it all worked out.”