Dame Elizabeth Anionwu is a pioneering woman in the research field of sickle cell - we are highlighting her exceptional contribution as we celebrate Black History Month
Last modified on Thu 10 Dec 2020 04.06 EST
When Elizabeth Nneka Anionwu was a child, she had severe eczema â bad enough to need daily dressings and slatherings of coal tar paste. Brought up in care until she was nine by nuns at the Nazareth House convent in Birmingham, she remembers this as torture. âNone of the nuns were deliberately trying to hurt me, but they would tear the bandaging off and my skin would come with it,â she says.
The exception was when a nun dressed in white, rather than the usual black habit, turned up to look after her. âShe would tell rude jokes and use bad words like âbottomâ as a form of distraction therapy,â says Anionwu. âI adored her.â When she discovered the nunâs habit was in fact a nurseâs uniform, it put her on a path. âI decided pretty early on that I didnât want to be a nun, I wanted to be a nurse.â