S6 • E2 May 17, 2024
The CDC says sickle cell disease (SCD) affects approximately 1 in every 365 births among black or African-American infants. For 29-year-old Walter, who lives in Colonial Heights, Virginia, that means living with excruciating pain since he was 3 years old. Medical Stories offers a look at Walter's battle with SCD, during which Walter says his family "poured love into me when I didn't have it to pour for myself." Later, KellyAnne and Kent, a couple from Centennial, Colorado, describe how their lives were changed when their second son, Carter, was exposed to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) at just 3 months old. KellyAnne and Kent tell Medical Stories about the challenges they faced in raising a child with RSV, such as when Carter's illness spread to another family member. Facing the Fray also features in-depth commentary from renowned experts Wally Smith, MD, Florence Neal Cooper Smith Professor of Sickle Cell Disease, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Eric Simões, MD, Clinical Professor, Pediatrics-Infectious Diseases, UC Denver School of Medicine.
