Ashburn Village Woman Fighting Leukemia Brings Light To Blood Shortage

ASHBURN, VA — In March, Ashley Littman was outdoors playing sports when she felt unusually out of breath and dizzy. She went to the doctor, who sent her to the emergency room to rule out a blood clot. But it turned out instead that she was diagnosed with leukemia.

"It was a huge shock to get a leukemia diagnosis out of nowhere after being a healthy person," Littman told Patch.

The good news is that Littman is in remission and is on the path to recovery thanks to the teams at Inova's Fairfax and Loudoun hospitals. She has one more round of treatment and is expected to get a bone marrow transplant at Johns Hopkins in November. With that transplant, she would be effectively "cured," with the hope that a new, healthy immune system will remain and the cancer won't return.

Littman and her husband, Mike, have lived in Ashburn Village for about 29 years. From people signing up for the blood drive to providing food for the family, Littman said the community has been supportive from the start of her leukemia battle.

"The neighbors, the friends have just been incredible. The outpouring of love, friendship, 'what can we do,' has just been amazing," said Littman.

Even in the midst of her treatments, Littman wanted to raise awareness about the blood shortage. Through her updates on treatment to family and friends, she has encouraged others to donate blood. To date, 36 people have done so, and even more will be donating through the Aug. 3 blood drive in Ashburn Village.

Littman herself has received blood transfusions and says cancer patients — especially with blood cancers like leukemia — may especially need blood transfusions often.

"It's life or death for some people. It speeds up your ability to get medical care," said Littman.

She says early detection helped her outlook, but some people may have a more progressed cancer that may require more donated blood.

"[Some] people are so anemic by the time they are diagnosed that they can't do anything until they have blood transfusions," said Littman.

Littman has been a blood donor in the past, contributing to Red Cross blood drives and most recently Inova Blood Donor Services, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. She says the blood shortage at Inova Blood Donor Services has been an ongoing concern since the start of the pandemic.

According to the American Red Cross, only an estimated 3 percent of eligible people donate blood each year. Littman says there may be no shortage even if just 4 percent of eligible people donated blood. For those who haven't donated before, she encourages them to give it a try.

"Every time I've been to Inova [Blood Donor Services], it's been almost painless, and it takes 15 minutes, and they say each donation saves [up to] three lives," said Littman.

Blood Drive Details

The Ashburn Village blood drive in honor of Littman will take place on Saturday, Aug. 3 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Mills Rec Center, 43895 Grottoes Drive, Ashburn. As of the time of publication, all slots are full for the Inova Blood Donor Services blood drive. Donors will receive an Olympic-themed cooling towel while supplies last and a cookie donated by Crumbl. Broad Run District Supervisor Sylvia Glass is also expected to attend.