The Human Story Behind the Coin

This coin is more than metal.

It’s memory. It’s movement.

It’s a symbol of strength carried in bloodlines—and echoed in every heartbeat of the sickle cell community.

This post features powerful video clips and reflections from those whose lives are shaped by sickle cell disease—not as a condition, but as a lived experience.

Sickle cell may flow through our veins, but strength, resilience, and vision flow through our souls.  The world is ours to shape, to inspire, and to leave an undeniable legacy – our imprint is unstoppable! @scottythaartist

WHY THIS EXISTS

Too often, sickle cell is reduced to numbers:

lab values, ER visits, mortality rates.

But behind every stat is a person.

A story.

A pulse.

This space was created to re-center the narrative.

To show the fullness of life with sickle cell— not just the struggle, but the strength, brilliance, creativity, and joy.

Each video reminds us:

❤️ Sickle cell is not invisible.

❤️ Lived experience is a form of expertise.

❤️ There’s power in being seen.

COIN TO CONNECTION

This platform was inspired by the World Sickle Cell Day commemorative coin—created to reflect the full circle of strength in the sickle cell community.

You hold the coin.

Now hold the story.

Let these voices open your heart.

Let them shift how you see.

Let them call you into empathy, into action, into deeper connection.

❤️ This is what it means to be human.

And this is how we rise—together.

Born of crescents. Carried with strength. A full-circle legacy.

Happy World Sickle Cell Day!

Devanne Barr, HEM Foundation board member, sickle cell warrior, advocate, and mother sharing the rollercoaster of emotions living with sickle cell and truly humanizing the warrior experience.

Scott Soliz, sickle cell warrior, advocate, and artist sharing what it's like to live with sickle cell.