My name is Gbenie Rinta, and I was born in Liberia with sickle cell beta+ thalassemia. I am now 38 years old and have lived my entire life navigating the physical, emotional, and medica realities of sickle cell disease. For many years, access to specialized sickle cell care was extremely limited, especially in the PNW, requiring me to travel out of state for treatment. Like many patients, I was placed on standard therapies at a young age, including hydroxyurea, without fully understanding the long-term effects. Years later, as I prepared for a sickle cell transplant in 2020, I learned that I had become infertile—an outcome I was never warned about as a child. Experiences like these are why this space matters to me. There are aspects of living with sickle cell that cannot be fully understood through textbooks alone. Patients learn vital information through lived experiences, trial, loss, resilience, and shared stories. This community exists to amplify those voices, foster informed conversations, and support one another in ways the medical system alone often cannot. I am honored to be part of a space where patients, families, and providers can learn together. If my journey can help someone feel less alone, better informed, or more empowered in their care, then sharing it has purpose.

We are in this together.