In the spirit of Standing Apart, Stronger Together, Donna is challenging you to make a gift this month and she will double your donation through her own giving.

Donna was born in the United States Territory of Guam in April of 1976. Her doctors told her family that she’d never be able to walk or talk and that they should commit her to an institution and forget about her.

Donna's family refused to accept the doctors' prognosis, and soon Donna and her family made the long journey from Guam to Duke Hospital in Durham, where her family had found the best spina bifida doctors.

Donna's Duke Children's care team helped her defy the odds. She has had more than 30 surgeries and multiple hospitalizations, but none of that has slowed her down.

Today, she is 44 years old, leads a full life, has testified in front of Congress in support of medical research, and regularly advocates for people with disabilities. She also channels her passions for helping others into tireless support of Duke Children's: she is a generous donor, regularly shares her story at Duke Children's events, and serves as a member of Duke Children's National Leadership Council.

"With every passing year I defy all the negative predictions about what my life would be," Donna says. "I am happy to say I’m part of the first generation [of spina bifida patients] to survive to adulthood.”