Hillary W., 9

Hillary is a 9-year-old Grade 4 pupil attending a rural day school. He comes from a modest background, with his parents earning less than KSh 100 per day. The family lives in a simple two-room mud-walled home and depends on a stream, located about a 20-minute walk away, as their main source of drinking water. Despite these tough living conditions, Hillary remains cheerful, sociable, and full of ambition. He enjoys spending time with his friends and dreams of becoming a medical professional one day—if given the right support. Hillary lives with sickle cell disease. He recently visited the clinic with severe pain in his back and lower limbs. Over the past year, he has been hospitalized twice due to sickle cell crises and once for severe anemia that required a blood transfusion. This year alone, he has already experienced another hospitalization linked to a sickle cell crisis. He also reports occasional chest pain. Although his health condition often leaves him fatigued and prone to recurrent infections, which caused him to miss several weeks of school last term - Hillary remains determined to stay on track with his education.

Hillary, who has a known history of sickle cell disease, was admitted to the hospital during a painful crisis. He received antibiotics, sickle cell medication, and rehydrating fluids. Once his condition improved, he was discharged to continue treatment at home and advised to attend regular follow-ups at the outpatient sickle cell clinic. During a follow-up call, the Helpster Charity volunteer learned that Hillary had fully recovered and resumed his normal activities. He expressed his gratitude, saying, “I would like to appreciate Helpster Charity for their support. Thank you.”

If remains untreated sickle cell anemia leads to various serious complications, including severe pain, organ damage, stroke, and reduced life expectancy. These complications arise from the sickle-shaped red blood cells obstructing blood flow and oxygen delivery, causing tissue and organ damage.