Which celebrities have sickle cell

Our commitment to showcasing the best and brightest as well as highlighting disparities in Black life has been, and will always be, cornerstone to EBONY. All Rights Reserved. Gain access to exclusive interviews, videos, special events, and product giveaways delivered right to your inbox! September 19, Here are seven celebrities who have the disease or suffered from it.

Tiki Barber The former NFL baller launched a national health education campaign, Be Sickle Smart , to raise awareness about the disease that disproportionately affects African-Americans.

Paul Williams of The Temptations Williams suffered from sickle cell anemia, which he would often self-medicate with alcohol when in too much pain to perform, according to U Discover Music. Tags larenz tate Miles Davis paul williams prodigy santonio holmes Sickle cell disease t-boz tiki barber. It is imperative! The National Association of High School Associations has also followed suit, and dedicated a chapter in their sports medicine book to educating athletic trainers about the illness.

After a painful crisis and Sickle Cell complications cost him his spleen and gallbladder in , following a game at the same stadium, he will always opt out… Keeping his health a priority. Devard and Devaughn Darling also learned of their condition while performing athletic training drills.

Although many regions have powerful organizations, ambassadors, and leaders who are taking the initiative to spread knowledge on this disease, it is still not enough. We need more individuals of influence to step out and take a stance. After all, Sickle Cell Disease affects more people in minority communities of America than most other diseases. Sickle cell anemia is a blood disorder passed down through families in which red blood cells, which normally are shaped like discs, become sickle or crescent shaped.

National Library of Medicine, hemoglobin S. The crescent-shaped blood cells are fragile, and often break into pieces that disrupt healthy blood flow while also delivering less oxygen to tissues in the body.

The result is a painful, debilitating and often misunderstood disease that currently has no universal cure. Many live through regular hospitalizations, others have frequent blood transfusions, and still more with SCD die from the disease. Shepard discovered she had sickle cell trait she received a normal hemoglobin gene from one parent and an abnormal one from the other, sparing her from the disease itself in the late s.