Available in English and Spanish Los Rostros de Nuestros Ninos
From the Minority Coalition United Food & Commercial Workers
Union Dubbed in Spanish: Nearly 50 to 80,000 African-Americans,
and a very much smaller number of whites, have sickle cell
anemia, a genetic disease in which red blood cells become stiff,
sticky and misshapen. In a "sickle cell crisis," which can occur
for a variety of reasons or for no apparent reason at all, the
sickle-shaped cells can block blood vessels, causing severe pain
in the chest, back, abdomen and joints. Repeated crises will
eventually damage the kidneys, the heart and blood vessels, and
other organs. One in ten children with sickle cell disease will
have a stroke before they are fifteen; another ten percent have
"silent" strokes, which nonetheless impair their school
abilities and other functioning. Despite advances in treatment,
this is in danger of becoming a "forgotten disease," with
government funding for research and public information declining
to a trickle compared t