NEED TO KNOW
- Dora J. shared a health update on her daughter Sadaya Paige, who was diagnosed with Septo-optic Dysplasia 15 hours after she was born
- The mom of two shared that her daughter was doing “fine” on Friday before being rushed to the ER for “adrenal shock”
- Dora thanked her followers for keeping Sadaya in their prayers and asked that they continue to pray for her amid her recovery
Dora J. is giving an update on her daughter’s health.
The mother of TikTok star Sadaya Paige, 12, thanked her nearly half a million social media followers for their support of her daughter, who was diagnosed with Septo-optic Dysplasia, and asked that they continue to keep her in their prayers amid her recovery.
In a caption posted on both TikTok and Instagram on Sunday, June 22, Dora J. shared an update on Sadaya’s medical status from over the weekend. She also gave background for those who weren’t familiar.
“Fairies, thank you all for your prayers ❤️,” the mom of two began her caption, penned alongside a photo holding her daughter’s hand.
“I wanted to give a bit more clarity on what’s going on with Sadaya,” she wrote, adding, “To understand what is happening, you must know her medical history.”
Dora J. noted that Sadaya has Septo-optic Dysplasia, which she explained meant her daughter’s “optic nerve connected from her eye to her brain was underdeveloped which is the cause to her blindness.”
In addition, Sadaya also has “cortisol deficiency or adrenal deficiency and hypothyroidism,” she shared.
“Cortisol deficiency means Sadaya’s body cannot produce cortisol or stress hormones on her own which is why she’s been taking hydrocortisone (steroid) medication multiple times per day, everyday since birth,” the mom wrote.
Dora J. went on to explain the weekend and shared details of her daughter’s health from each day, starting with Friday, June 20. She recalled her teen doing “just fine” at the time, until she started showing signs of being unwell later in the night.
“She went to work with me and after work, we went home and she started vomiting throughout the rest of the day and night which was the first symptom we noticed that was not right,” she recalled of her daughter on Friday evening.
The next morning, Dora J. recalled her daughter becoming “lethargic, couldn’t stand, limbs were wobbly, and she couldn’t speak properly-and slurring.” She added, “Immediately, her dad and I rushed her to ER.”
Sadaya is Dora J.’s firstborn daughter, whom she welcomed as a single mom. In 2024, she welcomed a second daughter, Alani, with her partner TJ.
“We were told Sadaya was in adrenal shock,” Dora J. wrote in her caption, explaining that she spiked a fever of almost 104 degrees and her blood pressure dropped rapidly while they were in the ER before eventually being rushed into the ICU for blood pressure medication.
“However, her blood pressure was still dropping so they ultimately had to make the decision to put an oxygen tube into Sadaya’s throat and insert larger IV lines in her neck in order for them to give stronger medication to help with her blood pressure, Dora J. continued.
“Sadaya was in an extremely bad state. (Being cortisol deficient is one of those life threatening concerns and this, by far, was the most severe versions of Sadaya’s journey being cortisol deficient. Sadaya was also given stress dosing of the hydrocortisone which helped her so much.),” she noted.
Not long before Dora J. uploaded her social media update on June 22, she wrote in her caption that the doctors were “finally” able to remove the oxygen tube from Sadaya’s throat.
“Sadaya is still in excruciating pain,” she continued, noting that she is talking “here and there” but it “hurts.” She added, “But thankfully, Sadaya is still here with us 😭❤️🙏🏽.”
To conclude her caption, Dora J. wrote, “Please continue lifting her up in prayer as she is still recovering. Thank you 🙏🏽❤️.”
Three days prior to Dora J.’s most recent update, she shared a clip of Sadaya singing “Hero” by Mariah Carey with the intent of inspiring others to “find the strength to persevere and find their way through difficult times.”
In December 2023, Dora J. opened up to PEOPLE exclusively about navigating her daughter’s rare condition since being diagnosed 15 hours after giving birth.
“It was very difficult immediately, especially because it was not diagnosed during pregnancy. Receiving the news was very hard for me,” she told PEOPLE at the time, noting, “It took on a lot of emotional stress.”
Above all, they’ve emphasized positivity and spreading joy throughout — and specifically, Sadaya’s chosen to do that through music.
“She always gravitated towards anything musical, obviously because she didn’t have the visual perception. So any toys that had sounds, household items, she always reacted to them with interest,” Dora J. shared.
“I would say at about age two is when I got her her first little keyboard key piano from Target, and she absolutely loved it,” she continued. “She learned how to play her first song on the piano at about four and a half years old.”
Dora J. added, “She’s always been a little singer, but she really fell in love with me when she was about five or six… Music alone has given my daughter so much boost in her confidence.”
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