When a child has a sickle cell crisis the pain can be unrelenting.

“He screams and cries and it lasts for days at a time,” says mom Valeria.

Her 3-year-old son Tyrone was first diagnosed with sickle cell as a baby. The family has been seeking support at La Rabida ever since.

“A couple months later he had a crisis where he had a high temperature, swelling in his hands and feet, trouble breathing,” she says.

“It was very scary.”

So when her third child was born, Zion, now three months old, she was praying he wouldn’t also have the disease.

“Zion was an unexpected pregnancy. I’m just hoping he doesn’t go through the same pain.”

With help from the Sickle Cell Clinic, Tyrone’s hospitalizations have been reduced and the family is better able to manage his pain. Zion is now also being treated. Valeria says because of the care her kids consistently receive at La Rabida, she’s hopeful their sickle cell journey will be less painful and more manageable as they grow up.

The family is now preparing for their biggest challenge yet.

Tyrone’s 7-year-old big sister is planning to donate her bone marrow to her little brother in a procedure scheduled for next March at the University of Chicago.

“She wants to help her brother,” Valeria says.

With the support of La Rabida and his sickle cell care team, his mom says she feels prepared.

“They’re always on top of things,” she says.

For now, Tyrone is enjoying a new school year. His mom says he loves to learn.

“Even on the weekends, he’ll wake me up early for school,” she says. “He loves puzzles.”

September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month. Tyrone’s mom says she wants people to understand while it’s often called a silent disease, it’s still very real, and very painful.

“I just want people to not overlook it because he looks like a regular kid.”