All the feels! This exceptionally brave young girl donated her bone marrow to her little brother, which cured his sickle cell disease.
7-year-old Kyle James was diagnosed with sickle cell, a hereditary blood disorder, a few weeks after being born. The disorder prevented Kyle from being as physically active as other children, as he endured common symptoms of sickle cell such as fatigue, severe pain and blood infections. However, Kyle’s courage and strength never wavered, even when receiving blood transfusions. It seems like these two characteristics run in the family, because when his older sister, now 8-year-old Kendall, found out that she was a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant that could possibly help her brother live sickle cell free, she jumped at the opportunity to be his donor (both parents were not perfect matches; therefore, they were unable to be donors).
Their mother Tanya, made sure to explain the procedure to her daughter and just two months after Kyle and Kendall had their transplant surgery at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the doctors reported that Kyle was sickle cell free. A few weeks ago, the two siblings celebrated the one-year anniversary of Kyle’s bone marrow transplant and Kendall’s one-year anniversary of being a bone marrow donor.
Wow! Kyle and Kendall, your strength, courage and unconditional love for each another are an inspiration to us all.
Photo collage via: Tanya James (Mom)