The picture on the right is of normal red blood cells; on the left, a picture of a red blood cell from a patient with sickle cell disease.
Sickle cell anemia is an inherited form of anemia — a condition in which there aren't enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen throughout the body.
Normally, your red blood cells are flexible and round, moving easily through your blood vessels. In sickle cell anemia, the red blood cells become rigid, sticky and are shaped like sickles or crescent moons. These irregularly shaped cells can get stuck in small blood vessels, which can slow or block blood flow and oxygen to parts of the body.
So, why the science lesson?
I’d like to ask for your prayers for Kizito, one of our Hope Alive! kids who lives in Masaka and has sickle cell anemia. Three children in Kizito’s family have the disease. The last time Kizito’s mother took him to the clinic when he was ill, the doctor told her she could never make it raising three children with sickle cell because it is too expensive.
please pray for Kizito and his family. This weekend I have the opportunity to spend some time with them to do some basic education on the disease and how they can best live with and care for it on a daily basis.
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