Hi, my name is Sarina. My husband, Isaiah, and I have 4 kids: Amari (5 yrs), Amina (6 yrs), Isaiah (10 yrs), and Arianna (13 yrs). Two of them, Isaiah Jr. and Amina, have Sickle Cell Disease/Sickle Cell Anemia. Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic blood disorder that causes many of the red blood cells to be shaped like crescent moons (or sickles) and sticky in texture. These cells die much more often than regular round blood cells that most people have (most last 120 days; people with SCD last about 10 days) and leave them with low red blood cell counts, which also leads to low oxygen in the body, causing them to be exhausted easily and frequently. Their red blood cells also have a tendency to stick together and cause blockages of blood flow in the body, leading to frequent episodes of pain, damage to their organs, and serious infections. This year alone, Isaiah Jr. has been hospitalized twice, in and out of the ICU, with a condition called Acute Chest Syndrome and Pneumonia. Acute Chest Syndrome is a life-threatening lung complication of sickle cell disease caused by sickled cells blocked in the lungs, which in his case also led to breathing difficulties. Isaiah has also already had to have his spleen removed to avoid his spleen rupturing at 2 years old from sickled cells repeatedly becoming trapped in his spleen. They both have to be brought to the emergency room any time they have a fever over 101, which has been quite frequent over the years. Things like playing outside in the summer, swimming, or playing in the snow are kept to a minimum, if at all, because we’ve found these activities to trigger fever and pain most of the time.

We prayed for a long time for a miraculous healing without the need for a transplant, but eventually, I had to fully surrender to the understanding that God could also use the doctors through the surgery for their healing. We decided to have Isaiah Jr. and Amina go through the bone marrow transplant this coming fall. Transplant is the only known cure for sickle cell disease at this time that they are eligible for. The transplant consists of two rounds of chemotherapy (one will last about a week and the other about a month) before surgery and the actual transplant(transfusion of stem cells). Chemotherapy is done to destroy the sickled cells and make room for the new red blood cells.

It’s going to be an extremely difficult time for all of us, but especially for our other two kids, Arianna and Amari, who are both the donors for Isaiah Jr. and Amina (they are considered full sibling matches for the transplant). Family will be helping care for them as my husband and I will each be in a room with either Isaiah or Amina during this process. We are told we will be in the hospital with them for a minimum of 2-3 months, and upon our transition back home, they will be closely monitored during the recovery period that they estimate at 6 months (during which they also shouldn’t be exposed to anyone outside of the family) to minimize risk for infection while their immune systems will be very low. Neither of us will be able to work during this time, and we would appreciate any financial help that anyone chooses to offer in preparation and during the transplants and recovery to continue to pay our bills and provide for the needs of our other kids beginning Sept 7th 2025.

-For anyone who initially read this post with the October start date please read the updates to follow along!