Mileina, an 11 Year Old, creates awareness for Turner Syndrome
Special projects that highlight an individual's story or mission are always my favorite! This month, I was fortunate to photograph a cheerful girl whose enthusiasm for life (and snakes) is inspiring. Meet Mileina, who at eleven years old, glows everywhere she goes, even with all that she faces.
Mileina has Turner Syndrome (TS), a chromosomal disorder in females where the X chromosome is missing or incomplete. Those with TS have short stature, delayed puberty, fertility issues, learning disabilities, hearing loss and heart risk. The first signs of TS to Mileina's parents were that she was not developing normally. After a few years of doctor's visits and tests, she was finally diagnosed with TS in August of 2020.
On August 19, 2020, Mileina began a rigorous growth hormone treatment that required many injections. In celebrating one year of progress in this program, Mileina saved every needle from this treatment to photograph with. In creating part of this photoshoot, we spread the needles all around her head to demonstrate just how much it takes to achieve what Mileina has.
For the rest of the photoshoot, Mileina wanted to take pictures with signs to spread awareness for TS.
To finalize our photoshoot, we included more elements to showcase Mileina's interests and personality. One of the biggest things you'll learn about her is that she loves snakes. She sees herself as a veterinarian in the future, and if not that, someone who is at least involved with helping animals!
Lastly, to share more about Mileina, I asked her mother a few questions so we could get to know her daughter more:
KB: What does Mileina's day look like on a normal basis?
Michele: "Mileina is a normal 11yr old girl, who loves to sing and dance, literally all day if I let her. She loves to read and fight with her brother "play". Mileina loves playing with her Legos, and she also binge watches series on Netflix. She is an animal lover, specially snakes.
But when it's time to go to bed at night, she has to get ready for her shot. At the beginning it was a bit of a hassle, I mean who likes to get poked every night; Mileina is the one who gets the needles and medication ready every single night. She is an amazing young lady."
KB: What are her dreams and aspirations?
Michele: "Mileina wants to sing in America's Got Talent. She would like to become a veterinarian or a snake handler. But hey who am I to stop her?"
KB: How would you describe Mileina's personality?
Michele: "If I have to describe her she is unique! There is no one else like her. If she had a not so good day at school, she always has a smile and she always has something positive to say. Mileina makes sure that everyone around her feels loved, and she does with the biggest smile and the biggest of hugs."
KB: What about Mileina makes you proud?
Michele: "Mileina has shown me that no matter what the situation, there is always a brighter side of things. She has overcome this with such poise and grace, and that no matter who or what tries to bring her down, or makes her feel uncomfortable because of her height, she will demonstrates the total opposite. Mileina is the most beautiful young lady you'll ever meet."
All photos in this article were captured in my in-home studio located in Saint Cloud, FL.
Kristina Bozanich Hi there! I am the creator of the post that you’ve just seen. To give you some background, I am a photographer located in Saint Cloud, FL and service the Orlando area. I am also a self-taught makeup-artist, blogger, and have a background in primatology & conservation. To get the latest updates on my social media, follow me!
