Pittsburgh school holds blood drive for 7-year-old boy with sickle cell anemia
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Those who know him say Marquon Herring is a great kid who has so much energy. He's outgoing, spunky and courageous. He never shows he's in pain and never shows he's sick.
However, Herring is very sick. This bright-eyed, handsome young man is dealing with something no child should ever have to endure. Herring has sickle cell anemia.
Ahliah Thompson is Herring's mom who's watched her son put on a brave face where others might fold from the pain
"Having sickle cell is a constant battle every day. It's something that he lives with," she said.
But to continue to battle, Herring and other sickle cell patients need blood, and a lot of it.
"Our sickle cell patients can get up to 100 transfusions a year," Tina Czaikowski of the American Red Cross told KDKA-TV.
To help keep the blood supply up where it needs to be, Herring's school, Pittsburgh's Urban Pathways K-5 College Charter School, hosted a blood drive.
One after another, people who know Herring and his family lined up, lay down and gave literally from the heart.
Thompson and Marquon Herring Sr. say their son is battling but isn't letting the situation get him down.
"He's looking forward to doing something a lot of kids like to do come summer," Thompson said. "He swims! He will live in the water he's my little fish and he's amazing."
For more information on sickle cell anemia or if you want to donate blood, check out the Red Cross' website. You can also find out more about sickle cell anemia here.