It’s the year 2020 and we are still fighting systemic racism – not just in our neighborhoods and streets, but also in our healthcare system. The roots run deep –the 19th and 20th centuries included several ground-breaking studies which advanced medicine.
At two years of age, my mother was worried because I cried almost constantly. She noticed that my finger looked broken, which we would soon discover was a result of bone deterioration. What she was about to discover after rushing me to the hospital shocked her. She was told her two year old boy was suffering from Sickle Cell Disease. It was 1988 and newborn screening only started in California in 1990.
According to medical experts like Dr. Resa Caivano and Dr. Rebecca Deans of Kaiser Permanente’s Sickle Cell Center of Excellence in Inglewood, the majority of patients affected by sickle cell disease are African American, about 90%. It is important to debunk the myths surrounding the topic they said, and what better time to do it than during April, which is Minority Health Awareness Month. Bringing the subject to the forefront, they said, can keep people aware of what the disease is, how a person can know if they have it and what their treatment options are.
In honor of Sabriya Bakewell’s Birthday, the Sabriya’s Castle of Fun hosts a blood drive to help children in need.
Host: Amen Oyiboke
Giving blood matters because it can save lives. When it came time for Sabriya’s Castle of Fun Foundation (SCFF) president, Pamela Bakewell, to meet with local organizations about this year’s annual fun drive, she found hesitation. The fear of a needle made a few of the officials’ blood run cold yet some noted despite their fear of giving blood, they had tattoos. This led the group to an interesting revelation—if someone could sit through hours of a needle tearing through your skin, then someone could sit through giving blood, which is far less painful. On March 12, SCFF annual blood
Sabriya’s Castle of Fun Foundation’s (SCFF) blood drive was created due to the need of blood for life-threatening diseases and conditions. It’s for this reason that SCFF is asking everyone to come out and donate blood on September 19, from 10-3 pm in honor of Sickle Cell Disease Month at the Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper. Misty Williams Marshall started the Misty Melony Sickle Cell Disease Foundation (MMSDF), a non-profit, to help those suffering with sickle cell. She knows from personal experience how painful and difficult life with sickle cell can be.