'What Kit needs to live': Bridgewater rallies around 2-year-old with rare form of anemia

BRIDGEWATER — Two-year-old Kit Murdoch is just like any other Bridgewater toddler — she loves books, music, dance class and being silly with her 5-year-old sister Lucy and her mom and dad, Molly and Sam Murdoch.

But unlike most toddlers, Kit needs blood transfusions every month to stay alive.

At just 3 months old, Kit was diagnosed with Diamond-Blackfan anemia, a rare blood disorder that occurs when the bone marrow fails to make red blood cells, according to Kit’s care team at Boston Children’s Hospital.

For the past couple of years, Kit’s family has had to navigate the unexpected challenges that come with having a young child with a life-altering medical diagnosis.

But they aren’t dealing with it alone. Every Thanksgiving, members of the Bridgewater community line-up at a blood drive hosted by Kit’s family to donate blood in honor of kids just like Kit.

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In July of 2021, when Kit was just 3 months old, her mom took her to a routine cardiologist appointment.

“She was born with a little hole in her heart which was very minor and would close on its own. It was just a routine follow up but when they did an EKG, they were shocked that she was even awake at the appointment,” Murdoch said.

Kit’s organs, including her heart, were on the verge of failure as she was immediately rushed to the emergency room at Boston Children’s Hospital, where doctors found her hemoglobin levels, the protein that carries oxygen to the body’s tissues, were dangerously low.

“I have such a vivid memory of being on a hospital bed with Kit in my arms, signing consent to get her first blood transfusion, having no idea what that even meant. Or knowing that that's going to be our life,” Molly said.

After four blood transfusions and a weeklong stay in the ICU, Kit was diagnosed with Diamond-Blackfan Anemia, a rare blood disease that requires lifelong treatment to help the body produce the red blood cells or hemoglobin needed to carry oxygen to the body, according to Boston Children’s Hospital.

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'She’s been through more in two-and-a-half years than most people go through in a lifetime”

Ever since her diagnosis, Kit has been getting blood transfusions through Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana Farber every three to four weeks.

In the beginning, getting used to transfusions, which included getting IVs at just a few months old, was difficult.

“She was terrified. We had to work with early intervention and child life specialists at Boston Children’s and Dana Farber,” Molly said. “We role play, talk about doctors at home, and talk about why kids need blood to make it less scary.”

While the process of transfusions can be daunting, once Kit gets the transfusion, she perks right back up.

“You kind of forget how pink her lips and her cheeks are until she gets her transfusion and you're like, oh, wow, like that's what you're supposed to look like,” Molly said.

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“Now she's not afraid of blood, not really afraid of needles anymore, just because she's been exposed to them for so long,” Molly said.

But to make the process more comfortable, Kit received a port in her chest in October of 2022, which is used in place of IVs for transfusions.

“She's a tough little kid who has been through more in two and a half years than I think most people go through in a lifetime,” said Murdoch.

Community gives back: Bridgewater 'blood mobile'

For the past two years, Kit’s parents have hosted a “blood mobile” blood drive in Bridgewater around Thanksgiving in honor of the people who make their daughter’s treatment possible.

“As parents, Sam and I worry about a lot of things. But we've never had to worry about if the blood is going to be there when we go to Kit’s appointments,” she said. “We could have a million worries in the world but having blood is not one of those worries.”

This year, the sign-up sheet with 50 slots was filled within 12 hours, Murdoch said. In February, the family plans to host another blood drive.

“These people are so selfless, taking time out of their days to give to kids they don’t even know,” she said. “This is what Kit needs to live, and there's no replacement for donor blood.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Bridgewater toddler with Diamond-Blackfan anemia inspires blood drive