Hundreds walk to cure Sickle Cell Disease - MSNewsNow.com - Jackson, MS
JACKSON, MS (WLBT) – The battle to end Sickle Cell disease continued this weekend in the capital city with hundreds joining the effort to find a cure.
Saturday the Mississippi Sickle Cell Foundation hosted a tail gate party at the Jackson State Mississippi Valley football game to raise awareness about the disease.
Sunday the organization held a walk that started at Jackson State's Walter Payton Center.
Supporters young and old walked, ran, jogged and even pushed strollers along the course.
The hereditary blood disorder affects about one out of every 400 African Americans in America.
More than two thousand are living with the disease in Mississippi.
The painful illness affects children through adulthood.
According to officials, 11 % of the children with sickle cell between the ages of two and 18 will suffer a stroke.
"The reason we're out here walking today is we're walking toward a cure, and so we're walking with that purpose in sight. it gives our children that are suffering with sickle cell, as well as our adults, the knowledge that we're still fighting for sickle cell," said Demetrica Bookert-Nixon with the MS Sickle Cell Foundation.
This is the fifth year the organization has held the walk.
WLBT's own Maggie Wade was a part of the day's activities.
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