Divine and Siri Mabo’s love story persevered through a misdiagnosed medical challenge, leading to a remarkable journey of healing for their children.

MELISSA, Texas — Divine Mabo came to the United States as a teenager. And when a friend posted a photo online of a beautiful young woman from his native Cameroon, he knew he had to meet her.

Their love story endures to this day, despite the trials and tribulations of a medical diagnosis they thought they’d taken every precaution not to bring with them from West Africa.

And when you start a conversation with Siri Mabo, your iPhone will usually try to interrupt, as it did when I tried to ask her age.

“My age is irrelevant,” my cell phone chirped.

“Of course,” Siri Mabo laughed. “That’s the problem, every time,” she said during our conversation at the couple’s home in Melissa, Texas.

Divine has been in the US since 2006, Siri since 2016. And, after meeting online through a mutual friend, they got married and started their life together in San Antonio.

But before they did, back in their native Cameroon, they made sure they were tested for a common West African affliction: sickle cell disease.

“Sickle cell is very prevalent in that part of Africa,” Siri said.

Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic disorder where normally round red blood cells turn crescent-shaped, blocking blood flow. Severe pain, organ damage, and early death can be part of a diagnosis.

“Because if two people have the sickle cell trait and they get married, then they have a chance of giving birth to kids with sickle cell,” Siri said of their reasons for getting tested. In Cameroon, they watched couples break up over sickle cell diagnoses since it meant any future children would be at risk.

“We got results that said we both were not carriers of the sickle cell trait,” Siri said of the test results they received from medical experts in Cameroon. “So that meant we were clear to get married without having any fear of having kids with sickle cell.”

Nathan was their firstborn. Two years later, fraternal twins Bryan and Brandon arrived.

“It was really chaotic,” Divine Mabo said of the crisis that developed.

Because near the age of three, Nathan was diagnosed on the autism spectrum. And the twins received the diagnosis that Divine and Siri thought was impossible: both had sickle cell disease and began developing painful symptoms when they were near six months old.

“So, literally all three kids have an issue,” Divine said.

The sickle cell screening tests they received in Cameroon before their marriage in Texas were wrong.

“Contrary to what the results had said before, Divine and I are both carriers of the sickle cell trait and we passed it on to our kids unknowingly,” Siri said. “It was a very, very dark time for us.”

“That has got to be the most devastating news I have ever heard,” Divine said.

But in that devastation, doctors at Children’s Health in Dallas told them there was an option. Chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant are a potential cure if they could find a close enough bone marrow match. 

“That’s why we are so grateful to be in a country where we have the resources to manage the condition and eventually cure the condition,” Divine said.

Nathan, the older brother, was the perfect match they were looking for. But he was only a match for Bryan, the older of the fraternal twins. A successful bone marrow transplant and a blood infusion happened in 2021. Brandon, meanwhile, continued to manage his sickle cell symptoms with medication for three more years.

Until their little sister Naimah was born.

She was born via IVF, invitro fertilization, a method to ensure that an embryo does not carry the sickle cell trait.

“By God’s grace and everything being in place we got our little girl,” Siri Mabo said with a smile on her face. “She was 100 percent sickle cell free. And it just so happened she was a genetic match for Brandon.”

When Naimah was old enough to be considered a donor, Brandon went through the chemo and infusion regimen and was declared sickle cell free in 2024. Now, because each twin had a sibling who matched them, they are both sickle cell free.

“They are 100 percent sickle cell free,” Siri said. “They live normal lives.”

Nathan is eight now, Bryan and Brandon are six, and Naimah is three. And their parents say each twin calls their sibling donor their “bestie” and that they understand the gift they’ve received.

“I was sick,” Brandon said. “And my sister gave one of her bone marrow to me.”

 “Just fine and thankful,” added Bryan. “It was given to me by Nathan because he knows he loves me.”

Their story is in a memoir Siri Mabo has written. It’s called “Conceived.” And the Mabo’s started a foundation for awareness about autism and about sickle cell disease.

“To create resources for families that are going through this or to prevent other families from going through what we went through,” Siri Mabo said. 

“The goal is really just to try to advocate for folks to make sure they get tested,” said Divine Mabo.

“We are hopeful that they will grow up strong and healthy to be able to live life to their full potential,” Siri said of her happy, healthy, and now sickle-cell-free family.