At 19, Gideon Inman is receiving care at a Greenville clinic built to serve people with sickle cell disease from childhood into adulthood. The age-spanning approach addresses a recognized weakness in care: the handoff from pediatric to adult services can be disjointed and poorly coordinated, according to research indexed on PubMed.
Prisma Health’s Sickle Cell Lifespan Center-Upstate offers inpatient and outpatient services for patients of all ages. The program began in the Upstate in 2017 and describes itself as the region’s first to care for children and adults in one location with a dedicated team. It is also developing a clinic for patients ages 19 to 26, according to Prisma Health. Interim director Brianna Murphy described patients ages 18 to 26 as especially vulnerable during the transition to adult care.
Gideon’s case brings that model into focus. Born with sickle cell disease in Bujwaya, Uganda, he came to the United States for treatment in 2021, later returned to Uganda, and came back to the U.S. in 2023, according to the Greenville Journal’s reporting and an account of his family’s journey. In November that year, he suffered a brain bleed, underwent surgery and later awoke blind. Doctors did not know what caused the brain bleed; it could have been caused by sickle cell disease or a genetic issue, the family’s account relayed by Yahoo News said.
Olivia and George Inman became his adoptive parents; the adoption was finalized in April 2025, the Greenville Journal reported. The family moved to Greenville in part to support his education and medical care. Gideon attends the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind in Spartanburg and, according to the reporting, has gone nearly two years without a sickle cell crisis.
Continuity is one part of a wider care landscape
Prisma Health says its lifespan model is intended to bridge gaps between pediatric and adult care. It also operates a clinic in Columbia. Age-spanning services are not limited to South Carolina: UI Health in Chicago describes a sickle cell program for pediatric, transitional and adult patients, according to the health system. These program descriptions establish that such models exist, but do not by themselves show which approach produces better outcomes.
Sickle cell disease affects hemoglobin and can lead to serious complications, including stroke. The American Society of Hematology recommends annual transcranial Doppler screening for children ages 2 to 16 with HbSS or HbSβ0 thalassemia. That is general prevention guidance; it does not establish Gideon’s genotype, whether he received that screening, or what caused his brain bleed or vision loss, according to the American Society of Hematology.
Treatment options have also expanded. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it approved Casgevy and Lyfgenia as the first cell-based gene therapies for sickle cell disease, for patients 12 and older. The approval does not establish whether either therapy is appropriate or available for Gideon; his reported care in Greenville is centered on ongoing treatment and support through the lifespan clinic.
