I am more than this illness
In Nakabugo Mariam’s words
My name is Nakabugo Mariam. I am only 13 years old, but some nights I feel as though I have lived a hundred lifetimes of pain. Sickle cell disease came for me before I ever took my first breath diagnosed at birth and it has never once let go.
People see my smile and think I am well. They do not see the nights I curl into myself and try not to scream, the mornings my joints ache so badly I cannot lift a cup, or the years of my childhood measured out in hospital corridors instead of playgrounds.
I have watched other children run. I have watched them laugh without a shadow following behind. I have learned to smile through pain so deep it lives in my bones, because that is the only way I know how to keep going. But please believe me underneath the smile, there is a girl who is tired.
A girl who is afraid. A girl who wonders, on the worst nights, whether she will ever grow up.
There is a way out. A bone marrow transplant could be my miracle the one thing that could take this pain away for the rest of my life. But the cost is a mountain my family cannot climb alone. So I am asking you, stranger to stranger, heart to heart: please help me live. Not because you feel sorry for me, but because I am a child who still wants to grow up.
Please Donate to Stop Mariam's Severe Pain and Help Save Her Life
Mariam is a 13-year-old girl in Kampala, Uganda living with sickle cell disease a condition that has filled her young life with a pain no child should know.
An allogeneic bone marrow transplant is her one real chance at a healthier future, but the cost is far beyond what her grandmother can carry alone.
Your gift large or small brings that chance within reach. Hope begins with one act of kindness.
Contact: +256 759 333 986
WhatsApp: +256 759 333 986
Telegram: @savemariam
Website: https://onechancetolive.com/donate
