(Mobile, Ala.) - When Red Cross Phlebotomist Niesha Rogers talks about her brother, Quantasen, it almost sounds like he's in the next room.
What does she remember about her brother?
"Oh, his personality," she said. "He was fun to be around, fun to be around!"
Niesha recalled her brother fondly during Local 15's annual Holiday Blood Drive.
But the laughs Niesha and Quantasen shared were many years ago.
Jolene Rogers didn't stop loving her son, even though she only had him for a dozen years.
"Well, we found out he had Leukemia at the age of 3," she said, "So we were kind of in and out of hospitals, you know, basically until he was 12."
But Jolene can still see him, through the works of her daughter, Niesha.
During the time that Quantasen was in and out of the hospital, and receiving treatment from home health nurses, Niesha was watching everything, every life-giving blood transfusion, every pack of platelets her brother received.
She was so impressed by his courage, and by his care, she vowed she would be a life giver one day.
And so she is becoming a phlebotomist, a professional blood collector for the American Red Cross.
Donor blood extended her brother's life.
For Niesha, her career is dedicated to him.
"But i knew she'd be good at it!" said her mom. "I knew it!"
