LITTLE ROCK, AR — He was a voice for thousands of people with Sickle Cell Anemia here in Arkansas.
Just this summer, a Little Rock man lost his fight with the disease.
During his 41 years…Germaine Johnson worked to bring awareness and better treatment to those suffering from Sickle Cell.
It’s a genetic blood disorder that can cause tissue and organ damage and for Johnson it also took his life, but his legacy lives on.
His wife, Lakisha Johnson, said, “He just saw something that needed to change and just kind of took off after it.”
Lakisha says her husband started a non-profit organization to help others suffering from Sickle Cell.
He put together blood drives and raised awareness.
But nothing could top his final accomplishment.
Lakisha said, “For me a little sad because it was kind of like, you know, how people talk about your bucket list? It was his last thing on the list.”
Just this year, the Adult Sickle Cell Clinical Program opened at UAMS.
Years of hard work paid off for Germaine.
But the journey he started is far from over.
Lakisha said, “We’re not done, we’re just at the beginning.”
Next weekend, Lakisha will host a blood drive in memory of Germaine.
Folks with the American Red Cross say patients with Sickle Cell need massive amounts of blood and they encourage everyone to donate.
Danielle Ray, with the American Red Cross, said, “One patient with Sickle Cell can receive up to 100 blood transfusions in one year.”
It’s those blood transfusions, Lakisha estimates, gave herself and four sons two more years with the man they love.
She hopes that story inspires people to roll up their sleeves to give the gift of life.
It’s estimated more than a thousand people in Arkansas are diagnosed with Sickle Cell, many of them face a lifetime of blood transfusions making donations crucial.
The blood drive — in memory of Germaine Johnson — is this Saturday from 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at Greater Friendship Church in Little Rock.
If you would like to follow Melissa Schroeder’s reports on Facebook, you can click here and like her page.
Just this summer, a Little Rock man lost his fight with the disease.
During his 41 years…Germaine Johnson worked to bring awareness and better treatment to those suffering from Sickle Cell.
It’s a genetic blood disorder that can cause tissue and organ damage and for Johnson it also took his life, but his legacy lives on.
His wife, Lakisha Johnson, said, “He just saw something that needed to change and just kind of took off after it.”
Lakisha says her husband started a non-profit organization to help others suffering from Sickle Cell.
He put together blood drives and raised awareness.
But nothing could top his final accomplishment.
Lakisha said, “For me a little sad because it was kind of like, you know, how people talk about your bucket list? It was his last thing on the list.”
Just this year, the Adult Sickle Cell Clinical Program opened at UAMS.
Years of hard work paid off for Germaine.
But the journey he started is far from over.
Lakisha said, “We’re not done, we’re just at the beginning.”
Next weekend, Lakisha will host a blood drive in memory of Germaine.
Folks with the American Red Cross say patients with Sickle Cell need massive amounts of blood and they encourage everyone to donate.
Danielle Ray, with the American Red Cross, said, “One patient with Sickle Cell can receive up to 100 blood transfusions in one year.”
It’s those blood transfusions, Lakisha estimates, gave herself and four sons two more years with the man they love.
She hopes that story inspires people to roll up their sleeves to give the gift of life.
It’s estimated more than a thousand people in Arkansas are diagnosed with Sickle Cell, many of them face a lifetime of blood transfusions making donations crucial.
The blood drive — in memory of Germaine Johnson — is this Saturday from 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. at Greater Friendship Church in Little Rock.
If you would like to follow Melissa Schroeder’s reports on Facebook, you can click here and like her page.
