Fall Giveaway Winner - Jena

The catergory for the Fall Giveaway was a Deserving Teen. Jena, the winner this season, has been through a rough year. It took a while but she was finally diagnosed with von Willebrand Disease, a bleeding disorder. It has caused her continued trips to the hospital and has put necessary limits on her activites.

Von Willebrand Disorder can be difficult to diagnose because some symptoms can often be mistaken for other illnesses. I read about this disorder as I was going over the submissions for the Giveaway. I learned that von Willebrand Disorder is the most common inherited bleeding disorder. I was surprised by that, I had not heard of it but once before, on an episode of the tv show House.

It would seem to me that this bleeding disorder and it's symptoms and risks need to made more aware to the general public. So many people go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. So with Jena's having been through a rough year with this and the need for more people to learn about von Willebrand Disorder, I chose Jena as the Deserving Teen winner for my Fall Giveaway.

Here are a few images from her free photo shoot.