Black people are susceptible to sickle cell anaemia because of genetics. According to studies, the sickle cell gene evolved in the malaria belt region of Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Since the gene is related to malaria and evolved as a result of resistance to the disease, people with roots in these regions are at risk of the condition.
Logan and Erin Dorsey are two Black sisters who turned their battles with sickle cell into nursing careers to help others fighting the disease.
For 11 years, they fought sickle cell anemia, often seen in hospital beds, wearing their hospital gowns as sickle cell patients who require multiple injections for both preventative care and treatment.
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Despite the difficulties, they never gave up and trusted God that things would get better.
Today, Logan and Erin Dorsey are nurses at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where they help others through their own experiences.
“Without God’s grace, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Logan said to WAPT.
“It’s so fulfilling seeing my patients every day brings me so much joy. I honestly couldn’t imagine being anywhere else,” Erin said while Logan recalled their days in the hospital fighting for their own lives.
“I just think back and I remember how that felt. When I say I understand and I feel you, I can 100% say that I understand and feel you,” Logan said.
The sisters said their experiences inspired them to serve others. “Your illness is not a crutch—it does not define you,” Logan said.
“In fact, it can be your superpower, it can be your drive, it can be what keeps you going,” Logan added.
Through it all, their family was there to offer them support.
“They wanted to be a nurse and that’s what they wanted to do, so we nurtured it and got them their first set of scrubs,” their mother, Tunya Dorsey, said.
Sickle cell disease or sickle cell anemia is a group of inherited disorders that affect hemoglobin, the main protein that carries oxygen in red blood cells.
Red blood cells are usually disc-shaped and flexible, but when they sickle, they do not bend or move easily and can block blood flow to the rest of the body.
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, sickle cell disease affects more than 100,000 people in the United States and 8 million people worldwide. Nine of 10 people who have sickle cell disease in the U.S. are of African ancestry or identify as Black.
