As a child, it affected me a lot because I missed a lot of school and other stuff. When I did go to school after hospitalizations I would have to like go to the office to take medication all the time.

When we met Dr. Bronté and learned of the Foundation, my mom really loved it because she hated going to the ER and having to wait long hours while I cried waiting to just to get relief.

We get overlooked all the time at the hospital and even at the doctor’s office. We go to the hospital and say we have sickle cell disease and they don’t always believe us. They don’t believe how much pain we’re in.

I’m grateful for what Dr. Bronté and her team do because otherwise a lot of us would be lost. A lot of us would have to go to the hospital and get mistreated. I’m very grateful that I met her.

On Dr. Bronté: “Even though she doesn’t have the disease, she is compassionate. She knows what we go through and how we are discriminated against. She’s makes our lives better.

I was 4. I woke up in the middle of the night and I was crying. And I didn’t really know how to explain the pain.

It feels like a stab. A constant stab. It’s not something that goes away. When you’re in pain you’re in pain. Like it’s a constant knock.

I was 2 years old when I was able to vocalize the pain in my arms and legs. After I was tested learned I had sickle cell disease. Every day is a struggle and the bad side is you know you are going to die sooner than everyone else.