Felecia Florendo
Sponsor: Custom Installation Services

Ohio
Kimmi (Age 14)
Sickle Cell Anemia

Kimmi of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, loves to laugh, swim and practice her cheerleading moves just like any healthy junior high school girl. But Kimmi is different than most 14-year-olds. Since birth Kimmi suffered from a genetic disease called sickle cell, which caused her body to create sickle-shaped red blood cells as opposed to oval ones. This decreased blood to parts of her body caused constant pain.

One day when a pain in Kimmi’s chest wouldn’t subside, she was rushed to Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Doctors diagnosed Kimmi with acute chest syndrome, which is caused when irregular blood cells get trapped in the lungs. Kimmi’s sickle cell could be cured with a bone marrow transplant, but the procedure was risky.

Kimmi’s family decided the transplant was necessary to give Kimmi not only the kind of life she deserved, but a chance at life at all. Melissa, Kimmi’s older sister, was thrilled to learn that she was a match as a bone marrow donor.

Kimmi was the first child at Columbus Children’s Hospital to be cured of sickle cell disease. She led the way for many other children who have since received successful bone marrow transplants.