The Walking Dead’s Jeryl Prescott Gallien – Sarcoidosis awareness

The Walking Dead alum Jeryl Prescott Gallien recently took some time out of her busy schedule to sit and talk with Undead Walking about her career and the Sarcoidosis Awareness Campaign. Prescott Gallien portrayed Jacqui on season 1 of The Walking Dead series and is fondly remembered for her work on the series.

Jacqui chooses to end her life in the season 1 finale episode “TS-19” with Dr. Jenner (Noah Emmerich) at the CDC. She felt it would be easier than the alternative. During her time with the original Atlanta group, she was a solid and intelligent member of the group who spoke her mind and pulled her weight.

Prescott Gallien is also known for her roles in DC Universe’s The Swamp Thing (Madame Xanadu), Netflix’s Resort to Love (Naomi King), and All the Queen’s Men (Judge Martha) on BET Plus.

Jeryl Prescott Gallien Sarcoidosis Awareness Campaign

Jeryl Prescott Gallien joined me via Zoom to talk about Sarcoidosis and the “Ignore No More” campaign, which will bring awareness to the disease, women’s health, and black women’s health in particular.

Jeryl Prescott Gallien:

“You know how women are; we pay attention to everyone else and ignore ourselves or allow ourselves to be ignored, in some cases. There are two sides to the coin, we need to pay attention to our symptoms and our bodies to be good advocates for ourselves, and we need to challenge the medical community to include us (women and women of color) in their research initiatives.”

Statistically, African American women experience higher hospitalization and mortality rates with this disease. They also see more organ involvement, as Sarcoidosis can appear in any organ(s) of the body, and more severe symptoms than Caucasians and African American men.

This video below is part of the campaign is a very insightful look into Sarcoidosis and the “Ignore No More” campaign.

Don’t ignore your symptoms. Prescott Gallien’s started with a sore, very red eye that she attributed to exhaustion after giving birth to her child. She would then see a remission for several years and then find out it spread to her heart and she would be diagnosed with Cardiac Sarcoidosis. Her heart was enlarged and the function had been reduced to 15%. She was very lucky that this was caught when it was and she was able to get the treatment she needed.

She shared the three easy steps to keep yourself healthy:

ASK
ENGAGE
CONNECT

“Ask about symptoms, learn about the disease, treatment options, family history and be aware of the risks as an African American woman.”

She shared that participating in clinical trials is the one sure way to make sure the medical community takes notice of African American women and will then ensure there are effective treatments for them. There is a clinical trial page on the FSR website, and these can be as easy as surveys; clinical trials don’t always have to be drug trials.

It was a pleasure to chat with Jeryl Prescott Gallien and help bring awareness to Sarcoidosis. Be sure to check out the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research as there are many valuable resources available. And, don’t hesitate to ask your doctor about any symptoms you are having, it could save your life. You can also follow them on Twitter. 

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