(Touria Izri / CJAD News) — Akelia Campell is just 30 years old, but she already has arthritis severe enough to rival the condition of people decades older.
Her joints are so worn out that she’s already had a hip replacement. She’s wearing a sling to help recover from recent shoulder surgery.
“I couldn’t take it any more — I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t sleep I couldn’t do anything without being in agonizing pain,” Campbell said recently.
It’s all a symptom of sickle cell anemia, a genetic disorder that causes blood cells to lose oxygen too quickly and leads to a host of complications, including infections, organ and tissue damage and debilitating pain.
“How it’s impacted me, I would say everything: education, social life, leisure, love life,” says Campbell. “It hinders a lot.” (…)