Two-year-old Mia Giantasio’s battle with rare vascular conditions has deeply transformed her family — and brought thousands of strangers together in hope
She should be mastering sentences, chasing after her big brother, and enjoying carefree days that don’t revolve around hospital schedules.
Instead, 2-year-old Mia Giantasio has become a patient at some of the nation’s most prestigious children’s hospitals, her small body harboring mysteries her doctors are still trying to solve.
“You would never know by looking at her,” said the Seaford toddler’s aunt, Bianca Guerrerio. “She’s the happiest baby. Full of light.”
But beneath that joy lies a medical crisis that began soon after the moment Mia entered the world.
A journey that started so soon
Mia’s medical odyssey began at just two months old, her family said, when doctors diagnosed her with craniosynostosis — a condition where skull bones fuse prematurely. Major surgery followed, along with eight months in a protective helmet while her tiny, growing skull healed.
It already was enough trauma to last a lifetime for most families. But for the Giantasios and their extended family, it was just the opening chapter.
A routine post-surgical scan revealed a three-centimeter aneurysm on Mia’s right iliac artery. During emergency surgery to repair it, doctors discovered six more.
Despite extensive genetic testing, medical teams at both Boston Children’s Hospital and Cohen Children’s Hospital in New Hyde Park still don’t have answers for why Mia’s vascular system is turning against her. The tot’s been diagnosed with renal artery stenosis and is missing her carotid artery — a rare and life-threatening condition, her family said.
Now, with aneurysms having spread into her kidneys, Mia’s medical team has told her family that both kidneys need to be removed.
A mother’s chance to re-gift life
Mia’s mother Daniella Giantasio, who is Guerrerio’s twin sister, is navigating the nightmare as a single mother while also caring for her 6-year-old son, Dominick, the family said. When doctors confirmed Mia would need a kidney transplant, Giantasio tested as a potential donor can results showed she was a perfect match.
“This is a huge blessing, but it’s also incredibly challenging,” Giantasio wrote in a January update on the family’s “Miracles for Mia” GoFundMe page, which has received more than $38,000 in contributions.
The blessing came with complications. Just days after the New Year, Giantasio underwent major back surgery to remove a six-centimeter arachnoid cyst that was causing numbness in her arms and legs, the family reported.
She’s recovering from that procedure while preparing to donate a kidney to her daughter — all while missing work and losing critical income.
“Advocating for my little girl has become my full-time job,” Giantasio wrote in an update on the GoFundMe page for Mia.
The light in the darkness
Through it all, Mia remains herself — curious, sweet, and developmentally thriving despite the battle raging inside her small frame, her relatives said.
Her favorite person in the world is her big brother, Dominick. Family members said that watching their bond is what keeps their mom going through the darkest moments.
“Mia continues to smile and fight with a strength that amazes me every single day,” Giantasio wrote after Mia underwent a delicate three-hour interventional radiology procedure to treat an aneurysm on her mesenteric artery — the vessel that supplies blood to her intestines.
“She doesn’t understand what’s happening — but I do, and I carry every moment with her on my shoulders,” she added.
The family’s GoFundMe campaign helps cover travel between New York and Boston, temporary relocation costs, lost wages, childcare for Dominick and mounting medical expenses.
But beyond the financial support, Giantasio said the messages, prayers and shares have carried the family through the most difficult and challenging days.
“Knowing that so many people care about Mia and are helping spread awareness has truly carried us through,” she wrote in her most recent update. “Thank you for standing with us, for loving my daughter, and for giving us strength during one of the hardest chapters of our lives.”
As Mia approaches another round of critical medical decisions, her family faces the uncertainty with the same resilience the toddler has shown since birth.
“I will continue to fight every step of the way for Mia,” Daniella promised.
Top: Instagram/@dgiantasio
