Years ago, I had the privilege of having a young lady in my classroom who had the diagnoses of cerebral palsy and the sickle cell disease, although I had worked many years with people with cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities, it would be the first time that I taught someone with an additional chronic illness. Her good days were good, but the bad days were oh so bad. When she was in crisis, she would endure pain in the joints that would last for days.
Cells take on the shape of a sickle which makes it difficult for the red blood cells to flow through the blood vessels thus causing pain in the bones, chest and abdominal.
In recognizing September as National Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Month, I have create links that include additional information on the disease.
Sickle Cell Anemia Medical Sites
These sites include information on who is at risk, causes, signs and symptoms, diagnoses and treatment.
Kids Health
Mayo Clinic
Medicine Net
NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
WebMD
Wikipedia
Data and Statistics- includes national statistics, data, and prevalence.
CDC (Center for Disease Control)
Virginia Department of Health
Articles
Making Sickle Cell Disease a Manageable Illness (New York Times)
Sickle Cell Disease in Africa (National Health Institute)
Organizations
Children’s Sickle Cell Foundation, Inc.
Foundation for Sickle Cell Research
Sickle Cell Disease Association of America
For Teachers
Supporting a student with Sickle Cell Anemia
YouTube Video’s on Sickle Cell Anemia
