Warriors Without Limits
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Sickle Cell Warrior · Volunteer · St. Louis, MO
Damon Williams
Damon chose gene therapy because he is tired of the pain. Frequent pain crises. Weeks in the hospital at a time. A body that has fought him for over four decades. He made his decision quietly, deliberately, on his own terms, not because someone pushed him toward it, but because he is ready for a life without this. That is his why. A life without the pain crises. A life where he does not lose weeks at a time to a hospital bed.
Journey
Damon has lived with sickle cell disease most of his life. He carried it quietly — so quietly that Rosemary Britts, who saw him every week at church for years, had no idea he was sick. He never made it anyone else's burden. He volunteered with children. He showed up for his community. And he managed the disease on his own terms.
This year he made a decision that most people living with sickle cell never get the chance to make. He said yes to gene therapy. One of only a handful of people in St. Louis to take that step.
The first stage of the process is stem cell collection. Damon completed his collection and his cells were sent to a laboratory to be genetically corrected. While waiting for his cells to come back, he was hospitalized with a pain crisis - the disease reminding him exactly why he made this decision.
He recovered. He went home. He kept waiting.
Before Teara went through her own collection, Damon reached out to her and told her what to expect. He walked it first and then walked her through it. That is the kind of person he is — quiet, deliberate, and generous with what he knows.
Damon is now in the waiting period. His cells are in the lab. Chemotherapy and infusion are still ahead.
Latest Update
May 2026, Damon has recovered from a pain crisis he experienced during the waiting period. He is home. His cells are in the lab. The next stage is still ahead. He is steady and moving forward.
What this Means
Damon never set out to be a public figure. He chose to share his story because he believes it will pave the way for other patients. Those are his words. His willingness to be seen — a quiet, private man opening his journey to the world is one of the most generous things a warrior can do. Every person who sees his story and asks their doctor about gene therapy for the first time is part of what Damon made possible.