“When I first started working in cancer and hematology, I was very passionate about childhood cancer. And I learned a lot about sickle cell working in the hematology clinic. And those kids really changed my life. Once I found out what they were going through I found out a lot about their disease process and just the things that they go through.
Jessica, SCD Advocate
It really challenged me to want to be more involved and I had resources that I needed to give them. And so I learned about the different organizations. And one of the organizations that I learned about was the Marc Thomas Foundation that works in San Antonio, Austin, and Houston. They have camps for the kids and I love to be counselors at those camps. And so I worked directly with them and take them to their activities and they have a time to share their stories during these camps. And it’s very healing for them and very inspiring for them to meet other kids that have sickle cell so they know that they’re not alone. And so I love being a part of this foundation. I love my job because I get to work directly with them and support them. […]
One of the major problems is that there’s not enough research. There’s really not enough medication for these patients and a lot of the problem with sickle cell is it’s a very, very complicated blood disorder. It affects so many different systems in the body and I feel like it comes with so many
complications. And I feel like there needs to be a lot more research, honestly, about how to prevent
these complications.”
–Jessica, a SCD Advocate
