A Louisiana man has become the first person in the state to be cured of a deadly disease. He was successfully cured of sickle cell disease thanks to gene therapy.
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For his entire life, Daniel Cressy has battled sickle cell disease. But on June 22, he was able to ring the bell at Manning Family Children's Hospital in New Orleans, marking the end of his battle.
"I was diagnosed as an infant and my parents noticed symptoms when I was just a toddler. When I would cry nonstop, without relief," he told People. "So they would be forced to take me to the hospital. And I would usually stay for at least a few nights at a time."
Throughout his life, he's battled symptoms, which included severe pain. Yearly, he was hospitalized between six to 12 times a year due to complications from the disease.
Man Cured from Sickle Cell Disease
"My symptoms were at [their] worst when I was a young child to early teen," he explains. "As I got older, it got better. And at some point, I actually stopped having crises for four years straight. I was able to manage my disease much better when I got to 10th/11th grade. I ate more healthily, and that helped a lot."
Still, sickle cell disease affected nearly every aspect of his life.
"Physically, I would get tired and winded very easily," Cressy says. "I couldn't play on cardio-intensive sports teams, and sometimes I would get upset because I just wanted to have fun like all the other kids."
Now that he's cured, he's hopeful that he can help others with the disease as well.
"I suggest they keep at it and be very persistent on making sure your care team understands how much the treatment means to you," Cressy told People. "This therapy is worth it because your second life, Life 2, will be amazing."
Cressy also founded the Privileged Pilots Project nonprofit to help pilots who face health challenges.
"We are dedicated to using our nonprofit and our stories to inspire and give back to the community so that everyone not only knows about sickle cell, but also so that others may be able to come out on the other side of the treatment," he says.
