Tayshelice’s Story

10-year-old Tayshelice Hewitt, from Kingstanding, has been a patient at our hospital since she was a baby after being diagnosed with sickle cell disease, a hereditary condition which produces unusually shaped red blood cells. The third of five children, she’s the only one of her siblings to have the illness.  

The diagnosis came following a heel prick blood test after Tayshelice was born. Her mum, Tameka, knew there was a chance she could be born with the disease as both her and her husband, Kirk, carried the gene. She was referred to our hospital’s specialist sickle cell centre, one the biggest of its kind in the country, caring for around 500 children and young people.  

Sickle cell disease causes painful episodes called sickle cell crises and can also cause an increased risk of serious infections, anaemia, which can cause fatigue, strokes and lung problems. The family’s first experience of a sickle cell crisis was when Tayshelice was just one and a half years old. 

Tameka comments: “The first crisis Tayshelice had was terrifying for us. Her hands and feet were both swollen, so we headed straight to the hospital’s Emergency Department.” While she was regularly monitored, it wasn’t until 2020 when Tayshelice’s symptoms started to get worse. In January 2022, she suffered two major silent strokes at just eight years old.  

Tameka comments: “We noticed that Tayshelice couldn't hear as well as she used to as she kept asking us to repeat ourselves and was starting to lip read. She was slightly off balance and unable to use the right side of her body; we knew something wasn't right. We were sent straight from our GP to the hospital where an MRI scan confirmed she had suffered two strokes due to blood flow to her brain being blocked. We were devastated.”  

 Tayshelice was quickly admitted and taken to theatre to receive an emergency blood cell exchange, where red cells are removed with the help of a cell separating device and then replaced with non-sickle red cells from a donor. Since then, she visits our hospital for routine checkups and blood transfusions every month, and receives a brain scan once a year, too. The family are regulars at the hospital and, if a crisis strikes, can be admitted from anywhere between a few days and  a few weeks. While the care they’ve received has been exceptional, there is one thing they wish they could change.  

Tameka comments: “The staff have been absolutely amazing to all of us, but the first impression we had when we arrived at the hospital wasn’t great. The entrance is quite scary looking; we didn’t really know what to expect when we were inside. 

“As she’s got older, Tayshelice has also become aware of her surroundings more and often comments on the lack of colour when you first arrive. Due to the nature of her treatment, she can find coming to hospital distressing. A new front entrance would make a huge difference to patients who will see it less as a scary place to be. It will also really support the wellbeing and mental health of parents and carers, offering a place of respite away from the ward, where they can have a breather in a change of scenery while knowing their child is only moments away and in very safe hands.”  

Our new It Starts Here Appeal will change this. The current entrance way will be transformed into an open, welcoming, child-friendly and exciting place, where families can go to decompress or spend some time with their children before or after appointments. It will help make the hospital a fun, enriching and joyful place to be, instead of a scary or clinical one.