Dr Jean Walrond is not an ordinary Edmontonian. She is an extraordinary woman in every sense of the word. She is the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Alberta. She is also a mum and a grand mum who is very passionate about the health and education of Black people.
We had heard of her in many quarters but only just made her acquaintance today. Dr. Walrond is very empowering and affirming. We stood taller after the media chat.
Sickle Cell Foundation of Alberta started about two decades ago by two young students from Ghana. These students secured the charity status and got the organisation to a very good start. But Dr. Walrond’s journey with sickle cell has been going for close to half a century now. She knows intimately the pain sickle cell anemia causes to a loved one. Here is some information about early diagnosis, pain triggers, pain management and when to seek medical treatment.
We talked about the myths surrounding the sickle cell anemia and the challenges of raising awareness and advocating for people living with the illness. Here is information about the myths surrounding sickle cell anemia.
She agrees that more people are knowing more about the disease and the type of technology used to combat the illness. It is believed that even though a lot of work has been done on sickle cell anemia, there is still the challenge brought on by the lack of advocacy by people who have the illness. She said: “there is hope based on the work being done in the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Israel that a cure for sickle cell anemia will be found”.
We spoke about her work as an educationist working to improve representation for Black students in schools. We spoke about her recent work with Edmonton Public Library and the K-12 book list they came up with.
We encourage you to align your interests to finding out more here.
What we have done before?
We have written about sickle cell anaemia before here.
