RICHMOND, Va. — Going to the movies, hanging out with friends, playing video games — Jamal Bailey is your typical young adult who likes walking. But sometimes even something as simple as walking can take its toll.
“It can be stabbing, other times achy, it can be deep in your muscles. Sometimes it feels deep in your bones,” Bailey said. “It’s just a lot of different types of pain.”
You wouldn’t know it from looking, but Bailey suffers from a difficult form of sickle cell disease, a genetic disorder that causes red blood cells to change to a sickle shape, limiting its ability to carry oxygen, blocking blood vessels and causing pain, fatigue and other complications…