Woman with sickle cell disease celebrates 80th birthday, defying life expectancy odds by decades

Retired special education teacher Patricia McGill, 80, is among the oldest people in the U.S. with sickle cell disease.

When Patricia McGill was 13 and learning that she had inherited sickle cell disease, she did not think she would reach 30.

But now she and her family are celebrating McGill’s 80th year. 

McGill is one of the nation’s oldest people with sickle cell disease, living decades past age 52, the life expectancy of someone with the disease, which has a disproportionate effect on Black people. 

Born and raised in Houston, McGill was diagnosed with sickle cell disease after years of mysterious illnesses. “I was sick a lot, and when I did get sick, it was more serious than if my siblings got the same illness,” McGill said.

Despite her condition, McGill was determined to live life fully. In the 1970s, according to Public Health Reports, life expectancy for people with sickle cell disease was less than 20 years. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/woman-sickle-cell-disease-celebrates-80th-birthday-rcna158847

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