Sickle cell disease is an inherited disorder of the red blood cells. It can cause anemia, episodes of severe pain and other symptoms. Here’s what you should know about sickle cell disease. What is sickle cell disease? Sickle cell disease affects the red blood cells in your body. Healthy red blood cells are round, flexible […]
School-based healthcare is a blessing to single mother
Ericka Talley is a single mother fighting cancer. Raising four children on her own, she can use all the help she can get – and one of the most welcome helpers in her life is Allison Lantz, an Akron Children’s nurse practitioner in Warren City Schools. The 45-year-old mom found herself in and out the […]
Giving more sickle cell patients hope for a brighter future
When Erika Proctor gave birth to her first child, Lyric Ayers, she had no idea that she carried the sickle cell trait or what having sickle cell disease would mean for her precious baby girl. “I was devastated,” said Erika. She was referred to the Showers Family Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at […]
Local teen celebrates high school milestones while living with sickle cell disease
Dazuan Kidd isn’t unlike other 18-year-olds who recently attended their proms and high school graduations. What makes this recent Kenmore-Garfield High School grad different is he lives with a painful genetic condition called sickle cell disease. Sickle cell disease is a red blood cell disorder that causes red blood cells to become misshapen or “sickled” […]
Sickle cell disease almost cost this boy his life. ‘It’s nothing to play with,’ mom says
One of the dreaded complications of sickle cell disease happens when sickle-shaped red blood cells cause large amounts of blood to pool in the spleen. It happened to Karson George of Canton in August 2019, when he was 9 months old. Normal red blood cells are round and flexible, allowing them to flow easily through […]
