Shenika Richardson has never known life without sickle cell disease. “I was born with sickle cell disease at birth, so all my life I've known that I've had the disease,” she said. Now 48 years old, Shenika estimates she has received nearly 100 blood transfusions. They have helped her through childhood emergencies, major surgeries and the ongoing challenges of living with a condition that affects nearly every aspect of her life. “In my lifetime, I've had many crises, many surgeries,” Shenika said. “As a child, the doctors didn't know that I would make it to 2 years old. They thought that I might die because I had acute chest syndrome." Over the years, she has experienced scoliosis that required metal rods in her back, pregnancy loss and, most recently, an enlarged heart. But she remains focused on the life she's built as a wife, mother and cherished member of her community. “There are a lot of challenging days, stressful days,” Shenika said. “We're always constantly in the healthca...