Naklee M. Brisbane
Born 11/14/98, went to heaven 01/30/09
Student: Williamstown, Middle School
5th grade

Naklee Massah Brisbane was born November 14, 1998 to the union of Stanley Brisbane and Garmai Luckie. She was the most perfect baby anyone could want.  She seldom cried and was always peaceful and loving. At 2 months Naklee was diagnosed with SICKLE CELL (SC) DISEASE

School:
Naklee started the Dor-lyn Pre-school in Burlington, Mount Holly at the age of 2 1/2 and graduated from the Pre-K. By then, Naklee could read and do math and loved every bit of it. Her favorite activity was coloring and drawing. Not long after, because of her outstanding knowledge in subject matters, she skipped the kindergarten and attended First grade at the Friends Academy of Westamptam. By then, one could tell what her love and interests were. She could draw color and paint with a passion. She could do her homework independently. At this stage, she started to develop her likes and dislikes, favorite and least favorite things. It became clear that she loved the color pink and everything girly. However, eventually, she out grew pink making blue and purple the new favorites. She started to play the violin and piano and it was a joy to hear her play at recitals.

By second grade, she was enrolled in the Oak Knoll Elementary School, where her love for writing was evolving. She would spend a lot of time writing stories and poems. Many of her writing were based on the situation of the disease she suffered - Sickle Cell. As much as she wrote, she equally read a lot of books. In 2008, Naklee entered middle school and it was a pivotal moment in her life. She absolutely loved middle school. She joined the chorus group and look forward to their concerts. During this time, she began writing prolifically in her journal about the challenges she faced with her disease. She would write, “why do I have to go through such pain and hurting. Why do I have to be the sick one?” She expressed her frustration over her ordeal and the difficult road that lay before her.

Naklee was wise beyond her years and very insightful. As a matter of fact, she would ask her grandmother some difficult but important questions about, life, family and her history. Also, during the book fairs at her school, she would only buy medical books because her desire was to learn everything about the disease and to become a medical doctor –specifically a hematologist- in order to help other children who suffer from sickle cell. In conjunction to becoming a doctor, Naklee decided she would continue her passion for design and become a fashion designer. She had created many books of beautiful sketches which she cherished. In fact, just before she was taken to the hospital, she asked her mother to buy her more drawing material from Toys R Us instead of books from Barnes and Noble.

Outstanding Moments
One of Naklee’s proudest moments was that she skipped kindergarten and that she was the youngest in her class. She always spoke of that. Some of her favorite things to do were:

• taking care of her sister and cousins when ever the cousins were around
• Visiting the sickle cell camp annually which she started attending in 2005. It was a favorite getaway place for her and she looked forward to it every summer.
• Singing in the chorus group and recently started taking voice lesson

January 30, 2009, sadly with one of her many visits at the hospital, my Naklee lost her battle with complications at 10 years old. This is a PROFOUND lost to our family, friends, and people who knew my Nak.

by Garmai Luckie, mother