Years ago, when Christ’s parents discovered through a blood test that they carried the sickle cell trait, they had him tested and it revealed that he did indeed have the disease. It was shortly after that that he had his first painful crisis. Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) is a blood disorder that causes chronic pain, organ damage and most upsetting – a shortened life expectancy. As a young boy, he wasn’t sure what it all meant, but seeing his parent’s concern, he knew it wasn’t good.
For years, the Hematology team at the Alberta Children’s Hospital tried to help Christ. He took special medication to prevent the formation of the sickle-shaped red blood cells in his bloodstream. However, the pain raged. He spent long periods of time in hospital when the episodes were particularly horrible. It frustrated him that he would get so behind in school and then have to work so hard to catch up. He couldn’t play with his friends like others did. He felt like his SCD was holding him back in every area of his life.
When his Hematology team introduced him to the Transplant Team at the hospital, Christ was skeptical at first. They proposed wiping out his immune system and giving him an infusion of his mother’s stem cells as a means to cure him of his disease. It sounded like science fiction and too good to be true. However, when faced with the prospect of only living until his late forties – early fifties at best – Christ knew he wanted better for himself. With the reassurance of the dedicated team at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, he knew he was in the best possible hands and decided to proceed with a transplant.
On her birthday, January 17 (2024), Christ’s mom, Ahou donated her stem cells. The next day, January 18, a nurse came into his hospital room with an IV bag of orange fluid (mom’s stem cells) and hooked up the infusion. He played Mario Kart with the nurse while she kept an eye on him for a reaction. Overall, the experience was so calm and easy and to his relief, the pain he had lived with for so long was now completely gone. It seemed like a miracle.
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Now, one year post transplant, Christ continues to live pain-free and finds it hard to express his gratitude to the team who worked so hard for him. “I put a lot of faith and trust in Dr. Guilcher and I’m glad I did,” says Christ. “This transplant has given me a whole new life.”
Thanks to community support for the transplant program at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, there is world-leading expertise in curing Sickle Cell Disease through transplant available for young people in our community and beyond.
