Tag: Systemic Inequities

When children with sickle cell grow up, they face a system not designed for them

https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2022/06/sicklecelladults-feature-web.mp3   One night when Paul Gakpo was 9 months old, he fell sick and wouldn’t eat. His parents grew worried and rushed him to a nearby hospital the next morning. It was 1984. The doctors figured out baby Gakpo’s red blood cells were changing from the typical doughnut shape into the shape of a

Sickle cell patients face a double whammy: Systemic racism and a crippling disease

INDIANAPOLIS — Gary Gibson has a clear memory of his first conversation with his future wife Brenda Williams back in 1973. “Hello, my name is Brenda,” was the first thing Gibson remembers her saying. The second was, “I have sickle cell disease.” “I was like, sickle what?” Gibson said. https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s4780019/audio/2022/06/sicklecelldisease-story1-lackofresources-web.mp3 Listen to this story here.