Whatever Savannah Burns attempts, she excels at.

Athletic and full of energy, the Dahlonega resident loves horseback riding, cheerleading and participating in sports like volleyball or track. One time her track team needed a long jumper at the last minute. Burns stepped in, and though she had no experience, she won the event.

Now, lying in a hospital bed, she faces the challenge of her life.

Recently doctors diagnosed the normally healthy, active 18-year-old with a rare form of leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow where blood cells are made.

Meanwhile, many in the community have shown their support, including a recent blood drive held on her behalf.

Late last month, Burns' energy levels started to drop.

"She'd just been tired, and for the most part not feeling well," Lara Mealor, Burns' aunt, said.

Burns started showing unusual bruises, but she was so active that was not alarming at first. There were no big signs, her family said, until her gums started bleeding.

On April 2, the day after a visit to the doctor, her parents received a phone call urging them to bring Burns to the hospital right away. At Children's Healthcare Scottish Rite, they learned she had acute promyelocytic leukemia.

APL is a rare subtype of leukemia, with only 300 patients diagnosed every year, Mealor said. Burns' fatigue, bleeding and bruising were caused by a low count of red blood cells and platelets in her body. Red blood cells deliver oxygen throughout the body, and platelets help the blood clot.

Burns began receiving platelet transfusion almost immediately.

"It's very dangerous on the front end, due to the bleeding and clotting aspect of the blood getting way out of whack," Teryl Worster, Burns' mother, said over the phone.

APL is partly characterized by how quickly it comes, which makes it fatal if unrecognized. Burns' condition arrived just two weeks before her doctors visit, the family learned. Like other forms of leukemia, the cause of APL is not known.

Before Burns could be begin treatment at Children's Healthcare Egleston, she suffered a stroke.

After 2 1/2 weeks in intensive care, Burns is beginning to speak again.

"I think as a family we just came out of a coma," Mealor said, "We just couldn't grasp it, everything happened so fast."

Mealor set up a Facebook page and website to get out news about her niece's diagnosis and progress, and provide a place for friends and family to communicate or offer help.

Last Monday, LifeSouth Community Blood Centers held a blood drive in Burns' honor at their regional headquarters in Gainesville. More than blood collection, the nonprofit organization has the ability to separate blood into its parts, and provide people like Burns the platelets they need.

The process takes longer than most blood donations (an hour compared to 10 minutes), but its especially important; while blood can be stored for up to 42 days, the platelets Burns needs last only five. But unlike whole blood with its specific types, platelets are universal and can be given to just about anyone.

In addition to whole blood, the center took in 15 units of platelets for Burns. Michael Becker, district community development coordinator, said that LifeSouth would continue to accept blood and platelets in her honor.

"Our hope and our prayers are that she becomes a real success story," Becker said.

Now that Burns is out of intensive care, family members remain by her side as she receives blood, chemotherapy and treatments specific to her type of leukemia.

"There having to fight a lot of different issues with her, trying to get her stable," Worster said, "But if we can get her past this point, it's the most curable form of leukemia, which is about 90 percent."

Burns, a student at North Georgia College and State University, is experiencing something that most college freshman don't have to go through. But like the long jump she had never attempted, her family believes she can come out on top.

"She's challenged right now for sure," Mealor said, "But we want everyone to be uplifted with her spirit and strength."