Abibou Badjie, a senior at Kingston High School, and manager of the Boys Varsity Soccer Team, is currently being boosted by a fundraiser led by his coach and team, aiming to help with expenses surrounding his current medical treatment.

“He is an amazing kid, everybody loves him,” said his mom, Dawn Hoyte, in an interview with Kingston Wire. “Because he has endured so much pain, he doesn’t take things difficultly like other kids … he has a big heart.”

Badjie was born in Africa with sickle cell anemia, a rare genetic blood disorder, and has struggled with the severe physical pain that comes with it his whole life. He lived in Africa for the first eight years of his life before being adopted, along with his brothers, and moving to Kingston.

Visitors to Kingston’s Reher Center may recognize Badjie; he was a part of their “Taking Root: Immigrant Stories of the Hudson Valley” exhibition, where his story coming from Africa and transitioning into school in Kingston can be seen in more detail.

The Devastation of Sickle Cell

“When you have a sickle cell crisis your cells get stuck and it’s really painful and then it starts attacking your organs,” said Hoyte, who noted that when Badjie came to the states, he was immediately sent to Albany Medical Center, where he had to stay for two weeks to undergo a full body transfusion.

“With sickle cell your spleen doesn’t work so you can’t fight infections,” she said. “Several times a year he has to have hospitalizations … When he was 17 one of his hips started to dissolve as a result of sickle cell, so he had a full hip replacement at 18. They can have strokes early on; it can affect their lungs and inflict damage to many organs.” Things that trigger a sickle cell crisis can be anything from being outside in the cold, getting too hot, or even a simple bruise, she said.

Treatment and a Family Bond

This devastating disease isn’t without treatment, and after researching their available options, Badjie and his family decided on a bone marrow transplant, which has the highest success rate among all forms of treatment for sickle cell anemia, and is widely considered the only cure for it (with a 90-95% success rate.)

Badjie just had his transplant done on October 5. Bone marrow transplants can only work if the recipient finds a perfect match donor, and luckily Badjie found a perfect match in his older brother Malik, who is donating his bone marrow for his younger brother’s transplant.

“Our greatest hope is that after the procedure is completed, he can go back to living a normal life,” said his mom.

‘I Keep My Head Up’

Kingston Wire was able to speak with Badjie on October 4, the day before his transplant, when he said one of his biggest hopes is finally being able to play sports again, specifically soccer, and to get back to school to finish off his senior year. Leading up to his recent hospitalization, Badjie was attending every soccer game with his team, as their team manager, since he was unable to be out on the field with them.

After his surgery, the recovery process is long, but Badjie is hopeful. He said he aims to “go back to school in two to three weeks” since he doesn’t want to get behind on too much schoolwork. Badjie’s experience at Kingston High School, he informed us, has been “pretty good.” “My teachers tell me stuff I need to work on and I improve in these things every year,” he said. “I keep my head up and keep doing what I’m doing.”

His older brother, Modou, also went to Kingston High School and was also an integral part of the Boys Varsity Soccer Team. This is where Badjie formed his closest friendships, which led to the team and coach Daniel Hoffay deciding to create the fundraiser to help with travel and medical expenses.

“Being in Abibou’s presence always makes us smile and laugh,” reads a note on the soccer team’s T-Shirt fundraiser page. “Let’s all send Abibou lots of good energy!”

Hoyte said the fundraiser “was a surprise to the family. His classmates have called and asked what they can do to help,” and the support they have already received has been overwhelming, she said, with people far and wide reaching out to send their best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Additionally, Badjie said that he recently received a two-year scholarship to SUNY Ulster, where he would like to pursue the Culinary Arts.

In one final message to his team and coach before his transplant, Badjie said: “Shoutout to the whole team — Abibou loves you all, keep playing great and thanks Coach Dan!”

Happily, Badjie texted this reporter after the transplant, saying, “Everything went great.”

For more information on purchasing a shirt to support Badjie, contact Coach Daniel Hoffay at: dhoffay@kingstoncityschools.org.