Shared By Her Mother Gevena Knight

Jordyn was born with sickle cell disease SS and she was diagnosed at 3 weeks after the Newborn Screening was done. At first her parents were in denial as at that time she didn’t show any signs and symptoms of sickle cell until 6 months when she started getting sick from flu and pneumonia .  After going to sickle cell classes and finding out more about sickle cell disease and what to expect, her family moved to another State because the state Jordyn was born in had no hospitals with knowledge on how to treat sickle cell disease.

 

Her first stroke was mild and she recovered quickly but she suffered another stroke the following year on 13th September 2019. It was a massive stroke as it caused a blockage on her right side of the brain and suffered tissue damage.

 

In the new state, Jordyn started going to Loma Linda hospital. There she got better treatment through the help of her Haematologist who put her on sickle cell treatment plan such as regular blood transfusion, exchange and Hydroxyurea. Through her treatment, her sickle cell was stable until August 11, 2018 when she suffered her first stroke at the age of 3 years old. Her first stroke was mild and she recovered quickly but she suffered another stroke the following year on 13th September 2019. It was a massive stroke as it caused a blockage on her right side of the brain and suffered tissue damage. Her parents were informed by her doctors that they had done everything they would in order to save her and that it was up to her to come out of it and recover. Eventually with the help of prayers from her family and her fighting spirit she was able to pull through and recover.

 

With her first stroke, her parents were a bit skeptical about the bone marrow transplant because of the risks involved but after the second stroke, how traumatic it was and being told that she would continue having more strokes, they decided to get the bone marrow transplant in order to save her life.

With the bone marrow process under way, her sibling were tested to see if they were a match and Jordyn’s sister was a 10 out of 10 match. After a lot of research on bone marrow transplant, paperwork, labs, and treatment to prepare Jordyn as well as her sister for the whole process. She was admitted on 8th January 2020 to begin the bone marrow transplant and on 23rd January she had her stem cell infusion and on 13th February 2020 after 4 weeks in the hospital Jordyn in the presence of her family, doctors and nurses she rang the bell to declare her sickle cell free.

Her parents were grateful that despite the covid-19 pandemic, Jordyn’s bone marrow transplant process was a smooth and successful and that she didn’t experience extreme complications from it. Jordyn’s mom Geneva’s message to other sickle cell warriors and caregivers is “speak to your haematologist about sickle cell disease and see what your options are and if that doctor is not giving you answers that you feel like you agree with, get another second opinions and speak to several sickle cell caregivers and warriors to learn more about what to expect and how it will affect them. Wishing Jordyn and her family a great future and thank you for sharing your bone marrow transplant journey.