When she was 5 years old, Keiosha remembers sitting in the lunchroom at school and not feeling well. “It felt like my body was shutting down,” she said. “Like my back and legs were paralyzed.” Keiosha slumped over the lunch table and ended up going to the hospital. That was her first memory of having a sickle cell crisis. Keiosha has sickle cell disease, which means her red blood cells have a distorted shape, preventing them from flowing smoothly and carrying oxygen to the rest of the body. When these red blood cells get stuck in the blood vessels and block blood flow throughout the body, the result is a sickle cell pain crisis. Keiosha was told she wouldn’t make it to her 16th birthday. Then, she was told she wouldn’t make it to 25. Today, at 36 years old, Keiosha is thriving with the help of blood transfusions, which she receives whenever she experiences a sickle cell crisis. Blood transfusions help speed up her recovery, and they allow her continue being a source of support and en...