The story below is that of a sickle cell warrior who has been going through some complications arising from been born with the sickle cell disorder. For those who do not know what sickle cell is, it is a genetic blood disorder that affects the red blood cell. That is to say, the disease is passed from incompatible parents to their children. It occurs when a man with the AS genotype decides to produces kids with a partner who is either AS, SS or SC. When both parents passes the “S” gene to a child, the child becomes SS or SC as the case may be thereby suffering from the frequent pains and complications that comes with the disease. Read More HERE
Below is the brief story of Francis Okolo the sickle cell warrior who urgently needs your financial assistance.
My brother Francis is a sickle cell patient battling a chronic leg ulcer.
Francis is suffering from a chronic leg ulcer which affected his mid-shin is ankle due to sickle cell genetic blood disease. He was diagnosed with Sickle Cell disease genotype HbSS at six months of age according to my mother, Sickle Cell has been part of his life.
Growing up as a kid was like passing through the eye of a needle due to excruciating pains caused by Sickle Cell disease. His leg Ulcer is so obstinate to heal and he was obliged to use a wheelchair because it affected his walking and this affected his mood emotionally, physically, and mentally which led to a depression that almost cost him his life. He has been confined in a wheelchair for the past 7 years now, since May 13th, 2014 to date. He had various treatments from several hospitals here in Nigeria but to no avail, because the treatment collapsed several times, he has been to various teaching hospitals which have drained me and my family financially.
He has been advised and given a referral by his doctor to seek further medical care abroad, to get urgent medical treatment so that he can be able to walk again, and also get a hip replacement because these also affected his hip bone due to lack of movement and free flow of blood in his hip bone.
So many people in the sickle cell community will be surprised to see this because he has been a beacon of hope to the sickle cell community at large by sharing his wealth of knowledge in managing the sickle cell crisis with a holistic health approach, despite the fact that he has his own challenges he is dealing with.
Sickle Cell is a genetic blood disease that causes painful crises, chronic leg ulcer, stroke, acute chest syndrome, anemia, renal necrosis, avascular necrosis, and a multitude of other symptoms, due to the poor medical facility and care towards sickle cell patients in Nigeria and Africa at large many have lost their lives.
I am seeking for the general public to support him financially with your donations so that he can be able to raise funds to undergo his medical treatment/surgery abroad. With this, he can walk again and continue his sickle cell advocacy. If you are a believer of Christ Jesus, please pray for him or do what you can, to help him, as a sickle cell warrior, he doesn’t need sympathy but empathy. Being a sickle cell is not a death sentence if only we get the right treatment and do the right things his body needs, that is why I have come to plead with you all to support him financially for him to get proper medical care. Thank you in advance for your support.
Please kindly read more about his sickle cell life story on page 22 which he was featured by “LIFE OBSTACLES 4U MAGAZINE” via the link below.
https://pub.lucidpress.com/Lifeobstacles4UMagazineJan2021/#2kLXV9iVskJA
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