One little girl has been sweeping the Internet with her impressive Zumba moves and adorable karaoke covers. Audrey Nethery, a 7-year-old from Kentucky, enjoys singing, dancing, going to the beach, and other activities a healthy little girl might do.
Videos of her dancing in her local Zumba classes and at Zumba conventions have gone viral, showing how well she keeps up with the older dancers, not missing a beat.
Though you would hardly know it from her energetic, positive attitude in her videos, Audrey suffers from a rare, life-threatening bone marrow condition known as Diamond Blackfan Anemia, a disease in which the bone marrow malfunctions and fails to make enough red blood cells to carry oxygen to the body's tissues. According to Genetics Home Reference, individuals with DBA have an increased risk of developing certain cancers, and experience fatigue, weakness, and abnormally pale appearance.
Those infected with DBA may also have physical abnormalities, including extremely short stature, droopy eyes, cleft palate, a small lower jaw, and more.
According to the DBA Foundation, between 25 and 35 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States and Canada, making DBA an extremely rare condition.
Audrey's parents started a Facebook page titled Audrey's DBA Photo Booth to share Audrey's singing and dancing videos and bring awareness to her disease. The page has nearly 400,000 likes, flooding with supportive comments and people pledging to donate to fund treatments for DBA.
The photo above, posted on the Facebook page, shows Audrey only a couple hours old, weighing just four pounds. At the time, her parents were not yet aware of what was wrong with their baby girl, knowing only of her cleft palate, blood shortage, and heart problem.
Since her diagnosis, Audrey has received 20 blood transfusions, and frequents the doctor's office. Since little is known about her condition, a cure is many, many years away.
But that's not stopping her.
Seven years later, that little baby has taken the world by storm, proving that nothing, including DBA could stand in her way.
"Almost 7 years later she is up on a stage performing Zumba in front of 7000 people," her parents posted on the page. "Audrey has overcome so much in her short life, I can't wait to see what else she accomplishes in the future!!!"
Audrey herself has accomplished an astonishing feat in efforts to bring awareness to DBA: she has raised over $10,000 for DBA research and treatments.
Audrey can be seen on her Facebook page dancing and twirling along to Rachel Platton's "Fight Song," singing the lyrics loudly, dancing proudly around her living room with full abandon. You would hardly believe that on some days, the pain from her condition becomes too much to bare.
Audrey has and will continue to teach us so much about life, the strength of the human spirit, and the importance of a positive attitude.
The impact that Audrey has had on her family, her community, and complete strangers measures far beyond her incredible presence on stage. She is an incredible example for all of us to live life to the fullest. She is the perfect example of a fighter.
Never forget Audrey, "you might only have one match, but you can make an explosion."
Watch out, world. She's still got a lot of fight left in her.
If you want to learn more about Audrey's condition or make a donation to support Diamond Blackfan Anemia research, please visit dbafoundation.org.
