24/06/2025
💔 A Baby Fighting Alone… Because of What Her Parents Didn't Know.
Last week, I consulted a fragile little infant brought in by her grandmother.
She was breathing fast, restless, and weak. A complication of heart failure triggered by sickle cell disease (SCD).
Her mother? Gone.
She gave birth and disappeared, leaving the baby with her mom. No phone calls. No visits. She doesn’t even know her child is battling a life-threatening condition.
This story breaks my heart, but it is not uncommon. 💔
What is Sickle Cell Disease?
Sickle cell is a genetic blood disorder. It’s passed on when both parents carry the sickle cell trait (AS). If both carry the trait, there’s a 1 in 4 chance their child will be SS (sickle cell disease).
SCD is a condition that causes painful crises, frequent illness, organ damage, and can be fatal without proper care.
Babies born with sickle cell face lifelong health challenges. Many don’t even make it past childhood not because there’s no help, but because there was no prevention.
The tragedy? This could have been prevented with a simple genotype test before pregnancy or marriage.
If you don’t know your genotype, please go and check. It’s fast. It’s affordable. And it could save a child’s life.
Dear young girl, dear parent, dear community
Please, don’t wait until a child is born to discover what could have been avoided.
Let’s stop the cycle of pain. Let’s educate ourselves. Let’s act early. Know your genotype. Encourage your partner to do the same. Let it be part of your identification.
Visit the nearest hospital or lab today. Knowing your genotype is not just for you, it’s for your future children too.