Sickle Cell
Takiya Clausell
Our Different Cell’s
July 18, 2011
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disease that means you are born with it and it lasts a lifetime. People with sickle cell anemia inherit two variant or sickle cell genes, one from each parent. In the United States, sickle cell anemia affects about 72,000 people. About 2 million Americans carry the sickle cell trait but about 1 in 12 African Americans have the trait. The signs and symptoms of sickle cell anemia are different in each person. Some people have mild symptoms; others have very severe symptoms and are often hospitalized for treatment. Infection is a major complication of sickle cell anemia but pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children with the disease. Although there is no cure for sickle cell anemia, doctors know a great deal about how to treat it. I know from experience that sickle cell anemia has affected my sister’s life since her early walking phases as a child. We didn’t know what exactly was wrong with her as an infant, a lot of the symptoms of fevers and fatigue occurred but they thought it was normal. The doctor’s decided to run test on her and found out it was sickle cell anemia. Soon she had to get her tonsils removed in order to keep her fevers down. Now it doesn’t show as much because she takes her medicine which makes her complete in everything she does. The most terrifying feeling about sickle cell anemia is how the doctor’s predict and tell you how their life expectancy is reduced. Knowing that every child doesn’t have an equally chance to be born healthy with no diseases or infections is sad. It was hard to believe that a healthy looking child could have a life threatening disease and still look normal but not all do. Nobody deserves any type of illness but it happens from being passed by one or both parents’ genes. While reading this article I learned more information than I knew which was exciting for me. Sickle cell anemia is a shocking
Our Different Cell’s
July 18, 2011
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited blood disease that means you are born with it and it lasts a lifetime. People with sickle cell anemia inherit two variant or sickle cell genes, one from each parent. In the United States, sickle cell anemia affects about 72,000 people. About 2 million Americans carry the sickle cell trait but about 1 in 12 African Americans have the trait. The signs and symptoms of sickle cell anemia are different in each person. Some people have mild symptoms; others have very severe symptoms and are often hospitalized for treatment. Infection is a major complication of sickle cell anemia but pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children with the disease. Although there is no cure for sickle cell anemia, doctors know a great deal about how to treat it. I know from experience that sickle cell anemia has affected my sister’s life since her early walking phases as a child. We didn’t know what exactly was wrong with her as an infant, a lot of the symptoms of fevers and fatigue occurred but they thought it was normal. The doctor’s decided to run test on her and found out it was sickle cell anemia. Soon she had to get her tonsils removed in order to keep her fevers down. Now it doesn’t show as much because she takes her medicine which makes her complete in everything she does. The most terrifying feeling about sickle cell anemia is how the doctor’s predict and tell you how their life expectancy is reduced. Knowing that every child doesn’t have an equally chance to be born healthy with no diseases or infections is sad. It was hard to believe that a healthy looking child could have a life threatening disease and still look normal but not all do. Nobody deserves any type of illness but it happens from being passed by one or both parents’ genes. While reading this article I learned more information than I knew which was exciting for me. Sickle cell anemia is a shocking