On November 28, 2011 a crazy, goofy little boy walked into my life demanding all the attention be on him! My nephew Kaleb is quite the character!!
He also was diagnosed with Sickle Cell Anemia disease. It was definitely heart-breaking thinking about all that he may go through in the future. We quickly learned what the road ahead of us as a family would be like caring for a child with this disease. He’s only 5months old and is pretty healthy and happy.
Most African-American’s and Hispanics don’t realize that they are the highest at risk for having the trait and if they have sex with another person that has the trait as well, they can have a baby that has sickle cell anemia. It’s definitely time to get educated!
The annual Sickle Cell Walk/Run is June 23, 2012.There are hundreds of families, just like ours, in Central Indiana living with the burden of Sickle Cell Disease. Many of those families need additional support which Martin Center strives to provide.
To find out more about my nephew and if you want to join our team for the walk/run or just want more info on how to help Click Here
According to the Center For Disease Control:
It is estimated that:
- SCD affects 90,000 to 100,000 Americans.
- SCD occurs among about 1 out of every 500 Black or African-American births.
- SCD occurs among about 1 out of every 36,000 Hispanic-American births.
- SCT occurs among about 1 in 12 Blacks or African Americans.
For More Information on the Sickle Cell Disease visit http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/sicklecell/data.html
