Photo: CreateHER Stock

Many of the extraordinary people working behind the scenes to care for sickle cell warriors often fly under the radar, and we miss their stories amidst the rush of other news that hits us on a daily basis. One of those stories is about UK native, Dr. Olamide Orekunrin, who founded Flying Doctors Nigeria following the sudden death of her 12-year-old sister from sickle cell disease. 

According to a report by CNN, Orekunrin's sister was visiting with family in Nigeria when she got sick, and there weren't any nearby hospitals that could handle her illness. The closest equipped hospital was in South Africa, so Orekunrin and her family scrambled to locate an air ambulance that could transfer her sister to that facility. Unfortunately, by the time the air ambulance was ready to take off -- 12 hours later -- Orekunrin's sister had already passed.

To ensure that no other family would have to endure such a lack of appropriate hospital access, Orekunrin decided to start an air ambulance service, herself. Headquartered at the International Airport in Lagos, Nigeria, Flying Doctors Nigeria is the first and only air ambulance service in West Africa. Run by a physician-led team, FDN brings decades of combined experience on every call, and not only are their services available 24/7, but they also have the shortest response time of just 20-30 minutes. Read more about what they do here.

Had you heard about Dr. Olamide Orekunrin and Flying Doctors Nigeria before now? Do you know of any other extraordinary warriors, advocates, and/or healthcare givers we should all recognize? Share in the comments below!