The goal of the program is to support those individuals who are transitioning from pediatrics to adult care. It will consist of 1-on-1 phone calls and/or text messages that will focus on healthy living with sickle cell disease. The program will use the web-based Mentor1to1™ platform and PeerMentor™ smartphone app.

Mentor Eligibility:
The Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Program is currently available to anyone wanting to mentor adolescents and young adults as they seek to successfully transition into adult sickle cell health services. Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) is currently seeking individuals looking to support young adults with SCD as they transition into adult care.

Friday, June 19, 2020
1:00PM to 2:15PM EDT

Live Zoom , Fighting the Pain TV, and SCDAA MIAMI present World Sickle Cell Day with Celebrity Guest Mr. Tony Adkins, TV Host Sandy Bodeau, and Special Guest Dr. Thomas Harrington, and Dr. Ofelia Alvarez from The University of Miami and Jackson Health System Shining the Light on Sickle Cell Disease

Hosted By Naomie Pigatt and Co-Hosts

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Piedmont Health Services and Sickle Cell Agency & Bridges Pointe, Inc. present night of fun and awareness.

Join us for the Sickle Social: Meet and greet, patient panel, & get a chance to hear from Sickle Cell experts about the future of Sickle Cell. Be sure to wear your red shirts and red face mask!

Date & Time:
Friday, June 19, 2020
Meet and greet: 5:45 PM
Sickle social: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM

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Piedmont Health Services and Sickle Cell Agency & Bridges Pointe, Inc. present night of fun and awareness.

Join us for yoga & meditation with Duke health care providers.

Date & Time:
Wednesday, June 17, 2020
5:30 PM to 6:30 PM

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My parents knew they were carriers of the sickle cell trait before I was born, so they made an effort to find out if I had the disease during the prenatal stages of my mother’s pregnancy. Once they found out I had it, plans and preparations were made to ensure they knew how to be effective caregivers from the moment I was born.

My parents certainly tried their best to make sure they kept me as healthy as possible. There are quite a few things that I remember them encouraging me to do from a very young age.

The anthem of my childhood: “Tito, drink water!” Even though I didn’t fully understand what the importance of drinking water was, I just knew I had to do it and I never really questioned it. Drinking enough water is important for all people with sickle cell because it promotes healthy blood circulation and reduces the chance of a sickle cell crisis.

A smartphone app that measures hemoglobin levels using pictures of a person’s inner eyelid may help assess anemia in people with blood disorders such as sickle cell disease, a new study reports. The study, “mHealth spectroscopy of blood hemoglobin with spectral super-resolution,” was published in the journal Optica.

Hemoglobin is the protein that carries oxygen throughout the body in red blood cells. Laboratory tests of blood hemoglobin levels are done routinely as an initial screening for anemia.

“Depending on the hospital setting, it can take a few hours to get results from a blood test. Some situations also may require multiple blood tests, which lead to more blood loss,” Young Kim, a professor of biomedical engineering at Purdue University and the study’s senior author, said in a press release.

Taking vitamin D supplements may lower the number of visits to the emergency department due to vaso-occlusive pain episodes in African American children with sickle cell disease (SCD), a study found. The findings also showed that 45% of these children with SCD have vitamin D deficiency.

The study, “Vitamin D supplementation and pain-related emergency department visits in children with sickle cell disease,” was published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine.

Vaso-occlusive pain episodes are the most common reason for SCD patients to visit the emergency department. Such episodes can be caused by specific factors — such as dehydration, infection or cold weather — but also may occur without warning.

Living with sickle cell disease, I rely on several medications and treatments for various situations. In general, I take medications for my own well-being, as research shows that sickle cell patients who struggle to comply with medication regimens tend to experience a lower quality of life. Ergo, to have the best quality of life I can despite this debilitating disease, I must be compliant with my medication regimen.

My medication is essentially split into three groups: daily medication, pain relief, and other treatments. I am sharing them with you to demonstrate the complexity of treating sickle cell disease and its related complications. The following list of treatments is not meant to be a recommendation. Always consult your doctor before taking any medications.

The Sickle Cell Mental Health Initiative of the Sickle Cell Community Consortium is committed to working with the patients, caregivers, and community-based organizations (CBOs) of the sickle cell community to provide mental health support amid COVID-19.

Click the link to join this Webinar by the Sickle Cell Mental Health Initiative.

Schedule:

Tuesday, May 19, 2020 | 7 PM EST, Webinar with Q&A

Wednesday, May 20, 2020 | 7 PM EST, Community Chat

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Living with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) during a pandemic is devastating. Our medically challenged children are the most vulnerable physically and academically as COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted communities of color. We need your help!

Join our virtual gala & silent auction and help drive the success of Michelle’s House (SCDAA SC) and our programs. Your support will help drive the success of Michelle’s House and our tutorial and public awareness programs.

Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Wayne Frederick, President of Howard University.

Date & Time:
June 11, 2020 | 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM

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