Silent Suffering : September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month

http://www.sicklecellart.com/
Silent Suffering :: Nazaire :: Sickle Cell Awareness Art
Sickle Cell Series by Artist / Painter Nazaire who also has Sickle Cell Anemia.

This video is a moment of SILENCE for our loved ones who have come before us in this struggle.

Health Education ::
:: What Is Sickle Cell Anemia?

Sickle cell anemia is a serious condition in which the red blood cells can become sickle-shaped (that is, shaped like a "C").

Normal red blood cells are smooth and round like a doughnut without a hole. They move easily through blood vessels to carry oxygen to all parts of the body. Sickle-shaped cells don't move easily through blood. They're stiff and sticky and tend to form clumps and get stuck in blood vessels.

The clumps of sickle cells block blood flow in the blood vessels that lead to the limbs and organs. Blocked blood vessels can cause pain, serious infections, and organ damage.

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited, lifelong condition. People who have sickle cell anemia are born with it. They inherit two copies of the sickle cell gene, one from each parent. People who inherit a sickle cell gene from one parent and a normal gene from the other parent have a condition called sickle cell trait.

Sickle cell trait is different from sickle cell anemia. People with sickle cell trait don't have the condition, but they have one of the genes that cause the condition. Like people with sickle cell anemia, people with sickle cell trait can pass the gene on when they have children.

:: What is Anemia?

Anemia (uh-NEE-me-uh) is a condition in which a person's blood has a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or the red blood cells don't have enough hemoglobin (HEE-muh-glow-bin). Hemoglobin is an iron-rich protein that gives blood its red color and carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body.

Red blood cells are made in the spongy marrow inside the large bones of the body. Bone marrow constantly makes new red blood cells to replace old ones. Normal red blood cells last about 120 days in the bloodstream and then die. Their main role is to carry oxygen, but they also remove carbon dioxide (a waste product) from cells and carry it to the lungs to be exhaled.

In sickle cell anemia, a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells occurs because sickle cells don't last very long. Sickle cells die faster than normal red blood cells, usually after only about 10 to 20 days. The bone marrow can't make new red blood cells fast enough to replace the dying ones. The result is anemia.

Source :: NHLBI - NIH http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Sca/SCA_WhatIs.html
Be sure to ask your doctor for more info

Please take Note: Do not use the word Sickler. Stay Positive, don't allow ignorance to keep you down at an even lower level than your pain has kept you for so long. To overcome major difficulties you must be empowered do so. Words like Sickler does not define who you are... Demand that they change the language and allow you, your dignity... For in spite of your pain you are a human being worthy of esteem and respect due to any other. My body is not free of these chains and cycles of Pain but I can fight to free my mind.

Nazaire's favorite links:

September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month
Support your local SCDAA member organization
Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc.
http://www.sicklecelldisease.org/

Global Sickle Cell Forum
http://www.sicklecellforum.org/

The Sickle Cell Information Center
http://www.scinfo.org/

Sickle Cell Disease Association of America,
Southern Connecticut, Inc.
http://www.scdaaofsouthernct.org/

This is a Global Issue so please search for info in your part of the world.

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