StoryCorps: Jessica Smith, Dominique Merchant & Sia Foday

Jessica Smith, Dominique Merchant and Sia Foday met at camp New Hope. It’s a camp for young people living with Sickle Cell Anemia, a disease that causes a wide array of health problems. The three friends are now in their twenties and working as counselors at New Hope. In the StoryCorps booth, the three friends talked about the struggles that their illness caused early in their lives. Dominque began their conversation.

Broadcast version of the story that originally aired on Dec. 17th, 2013.