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Ali Al Haddad, left, is a media specialist at the Ministry of Health.
He is 26 and lives in Muharraq with his family and was recently blessed with a baby girl.
Ali would pass as any healthy, hardworking young family man. But he is one of the many in the kingdom suffering from sickle cell anaemia.
He was one of three brothers who inherited the disease and at an early age lost one of his siblings.
He said: "My brother met with an accident. He was operated on but his condition didn't improve and after six months he passed away."
His younger brother, also affected by the disease, had to leave school as he was unable to keep up.
Ali explained: "He is an intelligent boy but his health couldn't keep up with the pressure.
"He is now a student at the Gulf Academy."
With trauma having stricken early in his life, Ali has not been one to give up hope or surrender to the effects of the disease.
In 2004, while a student at the University of Bahrain, Ali faced one of his life's biggest terrors. He went into a 'sickle cell crises' and couldn't walk.
Determined not to let the condition overtake his life, he asked his friends to carry him to the examination hall.
He said: "I was in so much pain that I couldn't walk."
Only after attempting his papers did he allow himself to be taken to the hospital.
Ali feels that the best way to overcome mental trauma is to get rid of the negative thoughts associated with this disease.
"When people keep thinking about the disease, they are only bringing more misery.
"I advise my younger brother not to be scared of his condition and to take it in his stride and fight it off.
"I don't like to think of myself as a patient. I am not ... I am as human as any other person is - I can walk, I can study, I got married."
A year back Ali got married to a girl who is not affected by the disease.
According to the law in Bahrain, couples intending to get married need to have a pre-marital screening done to check whether they are affected by sickle cell anaemia.
"Her family knew of my condition and didn't have any issues as they have seen me active in my work and in society."
Their only prayers are that their new born baby, Johri, will not be affected.
"We will only come to know after three months and pray that she is not affected."
Ali was a journalist with the Al Watan newspaper prior to joining the MoH.
He is also an active member of the University Club and Society and has started a website along with his friends featuring news about Bahrain and the Arabian Gulf.
