Amarey Brookshire is just like any other teenager.

“She's into TikTok and likes learning the dances. And, you know, we call each other all the time about like, funny trends that we see,” her aunt, Jasmin Franjul, said.

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Amarey’s journey to reach her 16th birthday has been anything but normal.

She was born with sickle cell disease, which causes red blood cells to be hard and crescent-shaped instead of soft and round.

Amarey has had hundreds of blood transfusions and multiple hospitalizations, including a recent visit where the outcome was unknown.

“This one particular time was the most scariest for everyone in my family, and especially for her mom and her dad, who care for her in such an amazing way and are there f

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