Sickle Cell Anemia Assignment
Dr. Jon LaPook reports about an interview he conducted and broadcasted by CBS News
that shows the life of Jennelle Stephenson as she goes through treatment for a disease she has
had since after birth called sickle-cell anemia. Due to promising results from a clinical trial by
the National Institute of Health, Jennelle was found as a match to give her such treatment hoping
for a path to recovery. In the video, Dr. John Tisdale walks into Jenelle’s hospital room around
Christmas time to check her health as she prepares for chemotherapy. Shortly afterwards,
Jennelle responds to personal question by Dr. LaPook detailing daily agonizing events of
constant pain everywhere in her body. This uncomfortable pain is a result of the effects of sickle-
cell anemia which targets red blood cells traveling in a person’s bloodstream while forming a
sickle-cell shape that builds up and blocks the passage of oxygen needed in other organs and
