Sickle cell disease: Birmingham woman raises awareness with books

Image source, Jenica Leah
A Birmingham woman with a sickle ce ll wrote a series of children's books to help raise awareness of the disease.
Jenica Leah had many complications from the disease, including a stroke at age 13 and a hip replacement at age 25.
She says her books, in the My Friend Jen series, are designed to improve understanding of the disease, which is particularly common among black people.
Ms Leah, who was diagnosed with the disease as a baby, will also be hosting events as part of Black History Month.
Speaking to the BBC, she explained that people with the disease have red blood cells that do not retain their shape.
A "horrible condition"
"Instead of being round, spongy and easy to flow through the blood, veins and all around the body, ours change shape in that it's called a sickle or, as I like to say, letter C," she said.
"These cells get hard and sticky and s 'clump together and they can restrict oxygen flowing basically everywhere blood is supposed to go in the body.When this happens, it causes excruciating pain, which is called a seizure. sickle cell disease.
"This is one of the most common symptoms of sickle cell disease. Our body needs oxygen, our organs need oxygen, everything needs oxygen to thrive and survive and so when this oxygen is restricted to different parts of the body, it can also lead to other complications , such as blindness and b...

Entertainment Oct 5, 2022 0 72 Add to Reading List

Sickle cell disease: Birmingham woman raises awareness with books

A Birmingham woman with a sickle ce ll wrote a series of children's books to help raise awareness of the disease.

Jenica Leah had many complications from the disease, including a stroke at age 13 and a hip replacement at age 25.

She says her books, in the My Friend Jen series, are designed to improve understanding of the disease, which is particularly common among black people.

Ms Leah, who was diagnosed with the disease as a baby, will also be hosting events as part of Black History Month.

Speaking to the BBC, she explained that people with the disease have red blood cells that do not retain their shape.

A "horrible condition"

"Instead of being round, spongy and easy to flow through the blood, veins and all around the body, ours change shape in that it's called a sickle or, as I like to say, letter C," she said.

"These cells get hard and sticky and s 'clump together and they can restrict oxygen flowing basically everywhere blood is supposed to go in the body.When this happens, it causes excruciating pain, which is called a seizure. sickle cell disease.

"This is one of the most common symptoms of sickle cell disease. Our body needs oxygen, our organs need oxygen, everything needs oxygen to thrive and survive and so when this oxygen is restricted to different parts of the body, it can also lead to other complications , such as blindness and b...