Sickle Cell Disease

For my class disease, we looked at diseases and how specific ones effect the body. Our first action  project was to research a specific disease of our choice and write a patient case study helping people who do not know about this disease better their knowledge. I researched  a disease called Sickle Cell Anemia. Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA) is a disease of the blood, the body makes cells that are in the the shape of a sickle this red blood cell would look like a crescent. Normal red blood cells look like doughnuts and flow regularly through out the blood stream, they contain protein called hemoglobin which carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of the body. Where as with the crescent like red blood cell it often gets clogged, they are also stiff and get stuck together this causes them to block blood flow in the blood vessels which can lead to an infection, pain in the limbs, and organ damage. This disease mostly impacts the circulatory system because in order to carry oxygen through out the body you need your red blood cells to help carry the oxygen.

This disease is an inherited disease that lasts for a lifetime. Each parent gives one sickle cell hemoglobin gene to the child which causes the disease. If one parent has the gene the child will most likely  get sickle cell trait. Sickle cell trait isn't as severe as the disease itself but they can often get the same symptoms. Over all I found this project rather interesting because I already know so much about this disease. I enjoyed working on my human body drawing because I had the opportunity to zoom in and really show where the disease happens. Below I have my interview with a friend talking more about this disease and how it effects the body. I also have a patient overview of a sickle cell patient.
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Over View :

AMK(2015)

Adam, an average 18 year old boy who enjoys playing soccer, basketball and hockey. He lives a pretty good life. The only thing that slows Adam down is his sickle cell anemia. Adam is the only child in his family to inherit full sickle cell disease. Adam has had many sickle cell pain episodes through out his childhood which often forces him to go to the hospital and receive treatment although. When Adam was around the age of six he encountered a major stomach ache which caused him to the hospital. Later the doctors found out that Adam had splenetic sequestration which caused by sickled cells being trapped in the spleen since they are stiff and sticky it is often difficult for the passage ways to become clear. This caused Adam to have surgery to remove his overgrown spleen, to prevent infection. Today he is active and plays many sports he must watch his health and stay hydrated.

 If Adam were to suddenly have a sickle cell related episode, his stomach would ache, joints are stiff, and may run a slight  fever. Adam is rushed to the hospital and is hooked with an IV that contains water to keep him hydrated, he is given ibuprofen to lessen the fever and relive his joints. Nurses take blood work to make sure his hemoglobin count is steady and if not he needs a blood transfusion. If his case stays the same the care giver must hospitalize him to make sure he does not get worse. When he gets better Adam can return home, and go on with his daily lifestyle.

Hemoglobin is rich protein inside red blood cells, this caries oxygen through out the body. If a persons hemoglobin were to be low they would need a blood transfusion to raise their hemoglobin count. The hemoglobin could be low because their is deficiency in Iron, Folic acid, and vitamin B-12. This is where the term Anemic comes from (sickle cell anemia). 

Interview: 


AMK: How does this disease happen?

A: It happens when parents have both hemoglobin genes, and the child either has the trait or the actual disease 

AMK: What things can you learn from this disease ?

A: Its a blood disease, and it can't really be transmitted through bodily fluids it cant at all. Kids are born with it 

AMK: When someone gets sickle cell pain what are the symptoms?

A: Usually stomach pain, headaches, body aches, and high fever, its usually pain crises and pain episodes that could send a kid to the hospital so they can receive treatment.  

AMK: How can you prevent getting sick from sickle cell 

A: doing basic things like staying hydrated and also taking antibiotics, just being healthy and clean just washing your hands simple things yo do in everyday life.   

AMK: What ethnicity is this disease most common in?

A:Most common with African Americans, usually its just the history kids who have parents, who have sickle cell disease or the trait, and that's about it. 

AMK: How can the sickness be prevented? 

A:Like I aid before doing simple things like washing your hands, staying hydrated and active and watching what you eat.

AMk:Why do you have to watch what you eat?

A:Because you have to make sure you dont eat the wrong things that can make you sick easily. Also to watch your nutrition  

AMK: What type of medication does one have to use if they have sickle cell?

A: They use, well it depends on what the doctor prescribes like hydroxyurea is usually what most kids with sickle cell have it treats the pain in a way and somewhat controls it.
Citation:

"What Is Sickle Cell Anemia?" - NHLBI, NIH. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 28 Sept. 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

The Socratic Method

For our Forbidden books course, my classmates and I looked at how people that have political power try to ban books because of it's content. We also focused on a writing called The Apology .This reading is very important to today's world because it talks about Socrates, a wise philosopher who was on trial for ''corrupting the youth''. He would often go to the youth and ask them random questions just to hear their responses. The people of Athens, a city in Greece did not wan't the youth thinking for themselves or starting to ask questions, this would lead to a chaos, this is also why they considered his method peril. This method that Socrates used is called question and answer method. 

Socrates  was also put on trail for not believing in the gods of Greece. Although, a dime-god called him the wisest, he wanted to find out if their was anyone wiser. Socrates often questioned everyday topics and was founded guilty and sentenced to death my Hemlock poison. I believe Socrates was truly the wisest because although he had knowledge he did not flaunt and pretend he was something he is not. A famous quote from Socrates is ''I know that I know nothing''. This quote shows that Socrates is willing to admit that he does not know everything rather than pretend he does. Socrates was executed and did not refuse because he wanted to obey the law and truly stand up for what he believed in.

For our action project we had to use the Socratic questioning and answering method on a topic of our choice. The question and answer method is supposed to get the person who answers to dig deeper to a philosophical level and answer a question.The topic I chose was, What does it mean to be alive? I chose this topic because I felt that it makes you really think therefore you should not give a generic answer. I learned that many people have different definitions of the word 'alive', when you hear all these different answers it actually makes you think about what it really means. When writing the script for my project it was somewhat difficult to stay on track on  of the one topic I had. But I managed to make a well crafted script. Down below is my video on the topic: what does it mean to be alive? Along with the transcribed version.

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Characters

Savannah-character 1 AMK

Adam-character 2 -GN

Filmed-outside

Topic: What does it mean to be alive?

S: Hey Adam! I haven’t seen you in a while. Why do you look so happy?

A: Hey Savannah, I've been feeling depressed for a very long time, and now I finally feel alive!

S: Well, I’m glad you are not depressed anymore, but what do you mean by that statement, that you feel alive?

A: Feeling happy, and having something to look forward to of course!

S: Well what’s the difference between feeling alive and being alive ?

S: So if you're feeling depressed or unconscious are you or are you not dead?

A: Being alive is being alert and responsive. Feeling alive is, like I said before, feeling happy and having something to look forward too.

S: What if a person is in a coma or life support, the machine is keeping them alive, so do you think they are alive or dead? They don’t have any feeling or emotion because their brain can’t function on its own so what state is that person in, in your opinion?

A: Um, I don't know. For all we know they could be looking forward  to waking up from the coma..so they could be alive?

S: And for all we know they are unconscious so they may not feel any emotions.

A: I don't know they possibly can’t feel emotions then. When you're asleep aren't you half dead, or umm unconscious? What is the difference between being alive and being unconscious?

A: I suppose, the person in the coma could be dead but they have a small chance of living do they not? Someone who is asleep is still alive.

S: Yes, but If the machine is keeping them alive they are alive but without it they are dead. Therefore, they are unconscious or unresponsive.The person’s brain cannot function on it’s own, but in actuality they are alive and breathing.

S: When you go to sleep are you alive or dead?

A: Umm, I’m not sure now. I guess i'm alive but unconscious, right?

S: So if you are unconscious can you still feel emotions? Is that your definition of being alive,  being able to feel emotion?

A: I don’t know if we can, when I’m asleep I don’t think I feel my emotions. However, I do think that in order to feel alive you have to feel some sort of emotion.

S: I think the problem is that you have a fixed definition on what it means to be alive. You see Adam, being alive doesn't just mean the change of emotions. The actual definition of being alive is alertness,having a pulse, and not being dead. Also the term ‘alive’ has evolved  throughout history. For example people use the term ‘alive’ to express emotion rather than actually being alive.

A: I think I see your point Savannah. Maybe next time I will think twice before I make such a statement based off of my emotions. Let me restate what I said before, I am glad that I am no longer depressed, and I feel happier than  i’ve felt in months!

S: It’s okay Adam, i'm only here to help and i’m glad that you are happy! Have a nice day, bye!

A: You too, bye!