Heroism on the frontlines of Yemen’s fight against genetic blood disorders
12 February 2023– Rehab Fuad has survived deep poverty, chronic anemia and fatigue since being diagnosed with an inherited blood disorder – and all before reaching her first birthday.
But Rehab’s suffering has made her a much stronger person today. Highly resilient and resolutely focused on achieving her dreams, she is determined to live every day with as much purpose and positivity as she can.
Thalassemia is the disease that has caused Rehab to experience an exhaustingly difficult lifetime of weakness, fatigue, accelerated pulse, and other physical and emotional duress. The disease deprives her reduced red blood count of oxygen, and she also suffers from hemochromatosis, or iron overload, that can cause serious organ damage and potentially death.