England and North Wales
Amazing Stories - Awele Nwosu-Akeh
Living with sickle cell
Awele Nwosu-Akeh, 17, was diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia when she was ten. She has been in hospital many times because of her condition but is determined not to let it affect her life, despite the obvious challenges.
"Being a teenager with sickle cell can be difficult. I sat my GCSE exams in hospital but I couldn’t write myself so someone wrote for me. It was hard but I am glad I did the exams as I earned the grades I needed to study BTEC Media at college."
Awele hopes to finish her college course next summer so she can go to university. As she receives regular blood transfusions, and could potentially spend longer in hospital if she becomes unwell, her tutors have allowed her extra time to finish the course should she find that she needs it.
"I have a blood transfusion every four weeks to keep my haemoglobin levels healthy. I am very grateful to all the people who give up their time to donate the blood I need to survive."
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