Chinonso (Nonso) was born with sickle cell disease, an inherited disorder affecting red blood cells that leaves those afflicted in cycles of pain and in-and-out of hospitals. A documentary film sparked Nonso’s path to life-changing treatment: she watched the “The G Word with Adam Conover” episode ‘Disease’ that featured the NIH and the breakthrough procedure for Sickle Cell Disease developed at NIH. A bone marrow transplant could be a cure.
With the help of the Friends of Patients of the NIH, Jennifer Nsenkyire and her mother, Rose, currently live in a fully furnished apartment in Bethesda, MD, while NIH treats and observes her following a second transplant. Jennifer, originally from Ghana, has suffered from sickle cell anemia from birth. She moved to the United States […]
Hello Friends, “I think we can safely say Dixon is cured,” Dr. John Tisdale recently told Dixon’s father, Leonard. What amazing words for a parent to hear from his son’s doctor! 17-year-old Dixon is one the young brave patients, treated in an experimental study at the National Institutes of Health, that Friends of Patients at […]
From Nov 2017 Newsletter… It was a party with a mission at Friends of Patients at the NIH’s recent annual Gala in Bethesda. Patients and researchers were the guests of honor. Seventeen-year-old Dixon, who has Sickle Cell Disease, and his father, Leonard, both from Uganda, were featured in a video describing how his illness can […]
“Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) causes immense suffering in patients. When you see a patient in (sickle cell) crisis, you just want to do something.” John Tisdale, M.D. is a physician scientist who has spent his career working with Sickle Cell Disease. Rather than simply focus on seeing patients, Dr. Tisdale splits his time between the lab and seeing patients. […]
Friends at NIH Helps Deliver Hope Anthony P. is a postal carrier. So he knows that old saying -“neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night” – as well as anyone. Unfortunately, Anthony has an illness that can painfully keep him from his appointed rounds and put his life on hold. Anthony has Sickle Cell […]
