Everlee RyAnn Zimmerman entered this world in November 2019, and was affected by two rare genetic disorders. Her first diagnosis was Muscle-Eye-Brain disease (her doctors also used the term Walker Wahrburg Syndrome as she was somewhere between the two). MEB/WWS is a congenital form of muscular dystrophy. She was also diagnosed with leaky SCID (Severe Combined Immune Deficiency), something that has been nicknamed “Bubble Boy Syndrome”. Due to barely having an immune system, Everlee was at an extreme risk of illness and infections. To give her a layer of protection, she got IgG infusions. Those infusions were made possible by blood donors across the nation, as IgG is basically antibodies separated from donated blood. We truly believed these infusions helped keep her healthy, and hosting a blood drive/SleevesUp campaign is inspired by that as well as being a meaningful way to keep her memory alive.

Everlee was an absolute delight in our home, and many who met her fell in love with her bright blue eyes and chubby rolls..topped off with a full head of curls! 😍 She developed a devastating infection of bacterial meningitis in April 2021, and had more infection throughout her body as well. She forever conquered her earthly battles on April 26, 2021, at age 17mo 5 days. We miss her and her sweet, sunny personality so very much!

We hope you roll up your sleeves and join us in donating blood to help save lives in memory of our precious Everlee!