 |
Young sickle cell patient Andray Simmons
Facing hardship with
a smile, pain with courage
DAYTON, Ohio (Jan. 8, 2016) - Andray Simmons may be soft-spoken, but he
holds nothing back in a wide smile that surely makes his orthodontist
proud. The slightly built 15-year-old was still recovering from
hip surgery when his class from Fairmont High School toured Community
Blood Center. Andray had to avoid climbing stairs or standing too
long during the tour. But when he spoke they listened.
Most high school sophomores are too young to donate blood and may only
see a needle at vaccination time. Andray alone in the Fairmont
group could stand in the lab where blood donations are readied for
hospitals, and talk about receiving blood transfusions since birth.
“I’ve been an ambassador at Dayton Children’s Hospital since June,” he
said. “I still receive transfusions, usually one or two units a
couple of times a year.”
Andray was born at Miami Valley Hospital on Independence Day, July 4th
of 2000. But his mother Jewels Howard soon learned Andray had
sickle cell disease, and his young life would be dependent on treatment
and precautions.
Sickle cell disease is an inherited form of anemia. Many of
Andray’s red blood cells are abnormally rigid and “sickle” shaped, and
there aren't enough healthy cells to carry oxygen throughout his body.
It’s a disease that affects one in every 500 African-Americans.
Sickle cell patients are vulnerable to painful restrictions of blood
flow to the organs, or acute attacks on the lungs and heart.
Regular blood transfusions are part of the treatment.
“It’s like you have this awesome baby, and suddenly he’s an awesome
baby with an awesome component to him,” said Jewels. “Most people
think of this disease as a curse. But it’s also been a blessing
because he’s an awesome young man.
“His positive attitude – he’s happy. He knows what unhappiness
and pain is, and he faces it with a smile and he’s courageous.”
At the time Jewels spoke, Andray was at home, missing school because of
a stomach problem. “You wouldn’t know it,” she said. “He’s still
smiling.”
Andray’s missed the entire first month of the school year after his
August 14, 2015 hip surgery. Avascular necrosis, an interruption
of blood flow in the joint, was causing bone to die. The surgery
involved bone grafts, but Andray felt fortunate it was needed in only
one hip.
Jewels said Andray spent spring break last March in the hospital after
a simple cough turned into “a nasty bug” and pneumonia, requiring
multiple transfusions. But Jewels called it “a good year” for her
son.
“Two hospital visits is a good year,” she said. “Who says that?”
Andray is proud of his visits to Dayton Children’s that don’t involve
treatment. “I’m still an ambassador,” he said, “and I’m also on the
kids’ advisory board for the new Patient Tower.”
He’s committed to keeping a positive attitude at the hospital, at
school, and at home. “Most of the time I have to try to keep my head up
so I can make other people happy, mostly my family,” he said. At
the top of the list are his mother and grandmother.
Jewels said Andray has been taking the drug hydroxyurea since he was
five to reduce the rate of painful attacks. By first grade he was
still receiving monthly transfusions. He survived a stroke-like
paralysis at age seven. “He woke up and couldn’t move,” she said.
New research and treatments have reduced the number of sickle cells in
his blood and increased life expectancy, giving them hope.
“It’s definitely been harder,” Andray says about his struggle with
sickle cell. “I had to give up being like other kids. I can’t play
basketball with other kids. I don’t have the energy or heart to do so.
I get tired out faster than an old person!”
Andray relies on familiar pep talk he tells himself when times get
hard. “You’re having a bad day, but there’s always someone else having
a worse day,” he said. “It may not be as bad as the person next to
you. You get home, cry it out, and take your medicine. You
think about what you did, what might have caused the pain, and try not
to do it the next time. Every day you’re learning something.”
He’s committed to keeping his grades up and graduating with his class
in 2018. His dream is to study law, perhaps open his own
business. He likes the idea of helping enforce the law and “make
sure people are on the right track.”
He’s also thankful for blood donors. “It’s pretty cool how people give
their time and blood to some people they don’t know,” he said. “They
don’t have to do it, but they’re looking out for people they don’t know
and saving lives. It’s amazing.”
Learn more at www.GivingBlood.org
Connect with Community Blood Center for the latest information and
services at www.GivingBlood.org. Get fast and complete answers on how
to make your first donation, organize a blood drive, or bring our
education program to your school. Get all the updates in the CBC/CTS
newsroom, find quick links to our social media pages, or schedule your
next appointment to donate by connecting to www.DonorTime.com.
Blood donation requirements: Donors are required to provide a
photo ID that includes their full name. Past CBC donors are also
asked to bring their CBC donor ID card. Donors must be at least
16 years of age (16 years old with parental consent: form available at
www.givingblood.org or at CBC branch & blood drive locations),
weigh a minimum of 110 pounds, and be in good physical health.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) changes blood donor eligibility
guidelines periodically. Individuals with eligibility questions
are invited to email canidonate@cbccts.org or call 1(800)388-GIVE. Make
an appointment at www.DonorTime.com.
Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services® is an independent,
not-for-profit organization. Community Blood Center provides
blood products to 24 hospitals within a 15-county service area in the
Miami (Ohio) and Whitewater (Indiana) Valleys. For more
information about Community Blood Center/Community Tissue Services®,
visit www.givingblood.org.
|
|
|
|
