'Painful condition means I rely on 100 people a year to keep me alive''
manchestereveningnews.co.ukAn Oldham teen whose condition means she lives in constant pain relies on a hundred people a year to keep her alive. Tiffany Salako was diagnosed with sickle cell anaemia when she was just a baby – growing up with excruciating pain that affected her breathing and ability to walk.
The genetic disease, seen in about one in 2,000 births in England, sees the body produce red blood cells that are shaped like crescents or sickles. READ MORE: Signs and symptoms usually appear at the age of six-months-old and can include episodes of pain, anaemia, swelling of hands and feet, frequent infections, delayed growth or puberty and vision problems.
Tiffany, 17, remembers being in and out of hospital as a child with her hospital admissions becoming more frequent in her early teens.
During one crisis, her pain was so bad she was admitted to the High Dependency Unit. At the age of 15, Tiffany was placed on the red cell exchange programme at Manchester Royal Infirmary – describing the treatment as “life-changing”.
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