Sickle cell disease is a serious genetic condition that can cause severe pain, strokes and organ failure, affecting mainly people of African descent. Many adults don t know if they are carrying the sickle cell trait, which can be passed on to children, so medical providers want to raise awareness about the importance of genetic testing.
Sickle cell can be passed on to kids – but many don t know if they carry the gene wbaa.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wbaa.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
At 3 a.m., Imeria Price and Jordan Washington got
up to take their 8-year-old son to the emergency room. Jakobe had fallen ill earlier that day at a baseball tournament in Georgia, so they returned home to Punta Gorda.
At first, his symptoms resembled a typical infection. Sore throat. Swollen lymph nodes. Fatigue. Then came the blood-red spots on his mouth.
From
the hospital, a helicopter
flew Jakobe to Johns Hopkins All Childrenâs Hospital in St. Petersburg, a 25-minute ride. His parents trailed behind, a 2-hour car journey ahead of them, unsure what would come next.
A doctor called them about