As a mother, all you want to do is protect your kids from the world but more importantly, keep them happy and healthy. I think I speak for most mothers when I say a completely healthy baby is what you pray for, the minute you find out you’re pregnant. It’s almost like those protective instincts kick in immediately.
I was introduced to a new reality when my daughter was born. My daughter was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia during her newborn screening. Sickle cell anemia is a blood disorder that requires ongoing medical care. A person with sickle cell anemia has red blood cells that become sickle-shaped or c-shaped, instead of round.
When the red blood cells become sickle-shaped, this interferes with the blood cells’ ability to transport oxygen around the body. This can cause pain, trigger symptoms and other serious complications, such as acute chest syndrome, infection and the possibility of stroke.
Other symptoms associated with sickle cell anemia:
- Shortness of breath and/or pain when breathing
- Inflamed hands and feet
- Sudden pain in the chest
- Sudden pain throughout the body and/or joints
- Having a hard time moving parts of your body
- Dizziness
- Extreme fatigue
- Low oxygen levels throughout the body
- Inability to make concentrated or dilute urine or blood in the urine
- Jaundice (a yellowish color of the skin)
When I learned that my daughter has sickle cell anemia, my very first thought was “This is all my fault” because it is inherited from both parents.
Unfortunately, sickle cell anemia is more common in certain ethnic groups, Black or African-American being one of them. It’s estimated that about 1 in 13 Black American babies are born with sickle cell trait (SCT) /gene, and sickle cell disease (SCD) occurs among about 1 out of every 365 Black American births, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
RELATED: Managing The Pain of Sickle Cell Disease
My second thought was “I won’t let this condition define her” because she has sickle cell anemia, sickle cell anemia doesn’t have her. Now don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean being ignorant of reality. Crisis will happen and symptoms and other serious complications are possible at any point in her life.
My daughter takes her daily hydroxyurea (this medicine makes your red blood cells bigger. Also, it helps them stay rounder and more flexible — and makes them less likely to turn into a sickle shape) and vitamins.
The goal is to maintain normalcy in her life while at the same time, keeping her healthy. From about the age of three (she’s seven years old now), I’ve been teaching my daughter to listen to her body. Why? This is so she is in tune with her
