COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - According to the CDC, about 100,000 babies are born with sickle cell.
The Sickle Cell for the Lower Chattahoochee Region hosted its 30th annual Heritage Breakfast Saturday morning at the Columbus Marriott from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The breakfast was filled with music, encouraging words, and testimonials from those battling the disease.
According to the American Society of Hematology, 70,000 to 100,000 African Americans are born with the disease. The president and CEO of Association for Sickle Cell, Lower Chattahoochee Region, Lois Williams, says that impact is felt especially in the Black community.
“Black history, this is a disease that mostly affects African Americans, so why not put the spotlight on sickle cell disease as one of those diseases that affect people the most and put it out into February?”
Sickle cell is an inherited blood disorder that affects the hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen throughout the body. One 11-year-old who’s living with the disease says attending Saturday’s event and hearing encouraging words from others helped him learn it’s okay to be himself despite having the condition.
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“This event helped me learn that it is okay to have sickle cell and it doesn’t make you different,” said Quincy Munoz-Chatmon.
Lateria Gill, someone who also battles sickle cell, says her doctor told her she wouldn’t live past 18. She is now 29 years old with a son and friends that love her.
“It gave me more passion to wanna live, like I wanna prove the doctors wrong. You’re not gonna tell me I’m not gonna ever be a parent or I’m not gonna be able to graduate high school. I did that. I graduated college and now I’m trying to see what else I’m gonna do that the doctors say I’m not,” said Gill.
The organization says the work to help people fight the disease isn’t done just yet. They are hoping to open a sanctuary that will include blood infusions, counseling, and a day of relaxation.
ASCLCR will host its annual sickle cell walk in September.
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