Sarah,
The managed care that is standard at the Centers of Excellence, like the one in Chicago are doing a wonderful job and one thing you will often hear from the doctors who work at these centers, is that children in well managed programs will have fairly normal and healthy lives, and they say this with great confidence. Your daughter is in good hands and as she grows you can expect even more advancements in the management of thalassemia.
It is normally recommended that chelation start once a patient's ferritin is over 1000, but Exjade is approved only for those at least two years of age, so there may be a period before two years when her ferritin does cross above 1000. Exjade may be prescribed before two years of age if the previous experience of the doctor is that it has shown no ill effects in children under two.
The prospects for those with thalassemia have improved tremendously over the past few decades, but the progress in this past decade has been incredible. Children born now who are in position to take advantage of quality managed care can expect long lifespans with a good quality of life, that includes education, careers, marriage and children. There is no longer any reason for parents to expect the worst and much reason for them to expect a fairly normal life for their compliant children.