S7 • E8 Jun 22, 2025
Adenosine deaminase (ADA) deficiency is an ultra-rare disease that compromises an individual's immune system. According to the National Library of Medicine, about 80% of individuals with this illness also have severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which further weakens their ability to fight infections. While she was pregnant with twin girls, Shakira discovered she and her husband, Sam, were carriers of ADA-SCID. Furthermore, one of their unborn girls, who they named Maya, had already contracted the disease. In Watchung, New Jersey, Shakira and Sam share with Medical Stories their ordeal of raising Maya, who had to be isolated after she was born. But despite this enormous burden, they find a way to help Maya overcome her weakened immune system. Later, Medical Stories heads to Mountainburg, Arkansas, where Amanda and her husband, Dustin, share the story of their fourth child, Daxtin. Daxtin was born with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML), a rare type of leukemia, with only 1 to 2 cases per million people, according to the National Cancer Society. Daxtin's family and doctors had to race to find the right treatment while encountering numerous obstacles, including the COVID-19 shutdown and a last-minute medical complication. By the end of his story, it becomes clear why Daxtin's doctors refer to him as the "miracle baby." Brave Beginnings also features in-depth commentary from renowned experts Morna J. Dorsey, MD, MS, Director, Pediatric Immunology Center, University of California, San Francisco, and Elliot Stieglitz, MD, Associate Professor, William Fries II Endowed Chair of Pediatric Oncology, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital.
