Amna and her family moved to Seattle to get the best treatment possible for her daughter Jude, who has sickle cell disease. This is Amna’s story in her own words.
I will never forget the moment I learned I was pregnant with my daughter, Jude. I had moved from Sudan to join my husband, Amar, in the United States the year before. In my culture, we have big families with lots of kids, and Amar and I wanted to start our own family right away.
It took a long time for me to get pregnant, but when I finally did, I felt like I was flying! I named my baby Jude that day. In Arabic, it means “the gift.” She was my gift from God.
Back then, I never imagined my baby’s life would be at risk before she reached her first birthday.