Jordan McDowell, a 2014 alumnus of the University of Kentucky, has always been interested in the ways having a child with a chronic illness affects families. Part of this interest comes from his own experience with sickle cell disease.McDowell knows first-hand the experiences and difficulties a child with a chronic illness can have when transitioning from their parents' care to a new environment like college. As a child, McDowell was diagnosed with sickle cell disease, a severe hereditary form of anemia in which a mutated form of hemoglobin distorts the red blood cells into a crescent shape which can block blood flow and cause severe pain.
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