Faith Over Fear: How an Infant’s Family Treated Her Sickle Cell Disease

Credit: Ashley Walker Photography As a newborn, Savannah Spio was diagnosed with sickle cell disease, a condition that requires lifelong care. Her parents, Lillian and Justin, sought out treatment for Savannah at Cedars-Sinai. In her first few weeks of motherhood, Lillian Spio received disturbing news: A routine newborn screening revealed her daughter, Savannah, had sickle cell disease. “I was freshly postpartum and very emotional. I cried quite a bit,” Lillian says. “It took some time for my husband, Justin, to process the news, but then he, too, felt the weight of it.” An inherited blood disorder, sickle cell disease (SCD) causes red blood cells, which are normally round, to become hard and C-shaped like a sickle. These abnormal cells can get stuck in small blood vessels and block blood flow. This causes pain and complications such as stroke and infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), SCD affects millions worldwide and is common in people whose ancestors came from African, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Indian and Mediterranean countries. In the African American community, about one out of every 365 babies is born with SCD. Learning about sickle cell disease After Savannah’s diagnosis, relatives rallied round Lillian and...