“I have the sickle cell disease. It’s not contagious. I got mine through my mother and father. It was a real big deal. I’m the only one in my family who has sickle cell disease. My sisters have the trait. It’s just me. I got five older than me and five younger me. I felt like I didn’t belong there, because of me having the disease. I was always sick growing up. I was always small. I can’t gain no weight, and that’s fine with me. That’s the best part about it.
I have uncontrollable seizures. I don’t know when the seizures come on. My daughter, she has sickle cell trait. I never wanted to give her the disease. I didn’t want my daughter to go through this. She was the one who find me in the tub, when I was bloody. That’s when I discovered I had seizures, uncontrollable seizures. I don’t like that, because I don’t know what happens to me. If I know I had a seizure, I’m tired. I bruise my face or whatever. I’ve fell down the stairs in my house.” – Jackie, SCD, hgb SS