Health Moment: Sickle Cell Relief and Hydroxyurea

My Daughter’s Personal update:

It’s been 7 weeks since my daughter had her first Sickle Cell Crisis. For the most part, our lives are back to normal. She hasn’t experienced pain in a while and I haven’t had to worry about her health. We are making sure she is eating healthy and receiving more rest. With all the snow we’ve experienced recently, we kept her warm indoors mostly, but allowed her to play and enjoy the snow in moderation. Overall, we continue to be in love with life and feel well blessed that she is in good health again.

Since then, she has also received her most recent Trans Cranial Doppler test and all was well. At her last hematology visit, I felt encouraged from her doctor who told us that our daughter was lucky. While, I don’t believe luck has much to do with,  I know that God is showing us favor and I am tremendously thankful.

Hydroxyurea’s Encouraging Results from St. Jude

Although, we have been fortunate with our daughter often escaping the worse from Sickle Cell, I know that there are many parents suffering in agony as they watch their children live in pain with little relief. Finally, good news is in the air. Doctors at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have released the results of Hydroxyrea being used to treat children as young as 18 months. The original video shared Dr. Winfred Wang’s research findings about this discovery for children living with Sickle Cell. The results are encouraging for children, as is said to lengthen their lives; thus, it is a significant blessing for children who are having a difficult time coping with multiple pain crisis.

A study conducted by Harvard University reports that Sickle Cell patients with the following conditions would be a candidate for Hydroxyurea:

Of course, all drugs have side effects,  so before considering Hydroxyurea do your research and speak with a doctor you trust.

Learn more

Hydroxyurea – from the National Institutes of Health

References

(Revised April 22, 1998) Use of Hydroxyurea in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://sickle.bwh.harvard.edu/hyguid.html

Author, Ursula Madden. WSFA12. (2014, February 14). Medical breakthrough at St. Jude could change lives for sickle cell patients. http://www.wsfa.com/story/24731194/medical-breakthrough-discovered-at-st-jude-could-change-lives?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=9851960. Retrieved from http://www.wsfa.com/story/24731194/medical-breakthrough-discovered-at-st-jude-could-change-lives

Reader response – Have you heard of Hydroxyurea and what do you think of the drug being used in children?

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