I was worried that I was about to lose another daughter, but Avyn is a fighter.1 

In 2015, she had two brain surgeries, a few months apart.2 I was scared about her going through a transplant, too.3 But if it was going to help her, I wanted to do it. We looked and looked for a match, but couldn’t find one. 

Dr. Hanna4 saved Avyn’s life. He told us about how a half-match could also be a donor.5 Avyn’s father, Alberto Algee, turned out to be a half-match. 

Avyn had the bone marrow transplant on July 26, 2018. I call it her second birthday. 

I tell Avyn how much she is loved, and that no matter what she goes through in life, to keep fighting. Don’t let anything stop you. 

 

Avyn Henderson, now 12, is thriving as a student at Sunbeam, a Cleveland school that specializes in students with medical, orthopedic and developmental needs. 

Avyn and Uniqueka Henderson

Avyn and Uniqueka Henderson. | Photo Courtesy: Uniqueka Henderson

Notes

  1. Born with a serious form of sickle cell disease, Avyn Henderson was treated at Cleveland Clinic Children’s after she had a stroke. Her older sister Aanyah passed away at age 5 due to complications from a pre-birth brain injury. 
  2. Encephaloduroarteriomyosynangiosis (EDAMS) is a two-phase procedure that enables blood to bypass stroke-damaged vessels.
  3. A bone marrow transplant is the only cure for sickle cell disease.
  4. Rabi Hanna, MD, is Director of Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplantation at Cleveland Clinic Children’s.
  5. The haploidentical donor transplantation program broadens the field of potential donors to include relatives (e.g. parents or half-siblings) who may be half-matches.