At a young age, Bi’Yanie was diagnosed with sickle cell, a blood disorder that causes the cells to take on a crescent or sickle shape, which can lead to very painful episodes called crises. Another side effect of the disease is the heightened risk of having a stroke, and at 6 years old that is exactly what happened. Bi’Yanie’s mom noticed that one side of her body was weaker and immediately took her to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. A few months later she had to undergo brain surgery to restore blood flow to one side of her brain, but her ordeal was not over yet. She was still at risk of having a stroke again, so her doctors recommended a bone marrow transplant, the only known cure to sickle cell disease. Today, Bi’Yanie is getting stronger by the day, thanks to the care she received at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital!
