Sickle cell anemia leads to quiet suffering for this working mom. How to help others like her

The disease impacts between 90,000 to 100,000 Americans and African Americans make up roughly 70,000 of those cases.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – At 28 years old, Vanessa Baffour-Singletary balances life as a wife, mother and a career in educational policy.

But she has a battle to fight every day: sickle cell anemia.

“There are days when I feel fine and then all of a sudden pain would hit,” Baffour-Singletary said. “It feels like someone is hammering on your body in different places. Our pain is invisible. Sometimes people do not believe us.”

Sickle cell anemia is a genetic blood disease. For those like Baffour-Singletary who have it, their red blood cells do not form into a disc shape. Instead, they are crescent-shaped and can cause significant pain and organs to fail, among other ailments.

“For me, it is in a lot of my joints,” Baffour-Singletary said. “So, the blood is not flowing to my joints. I have a hip replacement. I take my medication. There are some chemotherapy drugs that I am able to take.”

Source: Sickle cell anemia leads to quiet suffering for this working mom. How to help others like her

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