-
Are you the only one in your immediate family with sickle cell?
I am the first born of my siblings, my parent are both carriers of the trait, and I am the only one with the full-blown condition. What is it like with your family?
-
5 Replies
-
I am the only one in my immediate family with sickle cell, my parents and older sibling have the trait, and my younger sibling has neither the trait nor the condition.
-
So I am, at this time, an ‘only child’. I had a sister that was born 5 years before me and died at 3 weeks. (I assumed she had SCD.) Both of my children have a trait. I had a second cousin who died in January 2020 at the age of 31, her brother who is 15 years older does not have a trait. I believe family education is very important! I, of course, have other distant cousins with the disease. But none of my first cousins have children with the disease, just the trait.
-
Out of 6 children. I’m the only one with sickle cell anemia. I have a twin brother and he does not have sickle cell. My parents also do not have it.
-
My mother had the trait which passed through to me and my youngest sister. My second sister, older than the first, does not carry it. My mother, myself and my youngest sister always felt we were in relatively poor health compared to my other sister but why was a mystery. At school I could win a 100m race but would come last in a cross country race! I could never comprehend this. Also being a blood donor my blood was sometimes rejected as being border line anaemic.
It was not until my mother had some blood work done in her late 60’s that the trait was first revealed and confirmed. The rest of the family were then advised to get tested, with the results as above.
I do not, nor cannot, accept the view that the trait is something not to worry about and that you may just get a ‘little bit tired’.
Recommended reading/study is the web site ‘thalassemia patients and friends’ which is eye opening.
-
It is so important for us to know our family’s medical history!!
Log in to reply.