"Thank god for the sicle cell" - Animal Mother
Posted on 07/12/2018 12:27:58 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The rapper Prodigy, from the hip hop group Mobb Deep, died today at age 42 while on tour in Las Vegas, according to TMZ. Although his exact cause of death has not been confirmed, his publicist announced that Prodigy, whose reeal name is Albert Johnson, was hospitalized a few days ago for complications caused by sickle cell anemia. Here are some possible life-threatening complications caused by this blood condition.
“Prodigy was hospitalized a few days ago in Vegas after a Mobb Deep performance for complications caused by a sickle cell anemia crisis. As most of his fans know, Prodigy battled the disease since birth,” Prodigy’s publicist said, The Independent reported. “The exact causes of death have yet to be determined. We would like to thank everyone for respecting the family’s privacy at this time.”
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of hereditary red blood cell disorders. The disease gets its name from the half-moon “sickle” shape of the abnormal red blood cells, as compared to round healthy red blood cells. Sickle cell anemia is the most common and severe kind of SCD, The National Institute of Health reported.
With sickle cell anemia, there are not enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body. The blood cells are also rigid and misshaped which makes them less able to flow correctly through the veins. As a result, the cells can become stuck in blood vessels. This can cause extreme pain for sickle cell patients. The disease has no cure, and is caused by inheriting two abnormal red blood cell genes, one from both parents. Because of its genetic component, the disease is almost completely restricted to individuals of African descent.
According to the Mayo Clinic, common symptoms of sickle cell anemia can include lack of energy and fatigue caused by not getting enough oxygen throughout the body. In addition, patients can have episodes of pain, called crises, caused by tiny red blood cell blockages in the blood flow. Blood blockage can also cause painful swelling of the hands and feet.
While sickle cell itself may not cause death, it can lead to a number of life-threatening complications. For example, sickle cell patients are at heightened risk for experiencing a stroke, due to the constant blockage of blood flow. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 10% of children with SCD will have a symptomatic stroke. Strokes can cause learning problems and lifelong disabilities.
Sickle cell patients are also at risk for acute chest syndrome, a condition caused by a lung infection due to sickle cells blocking blood vessels in the lungs. This condition has symptoms similar to pneumonia. Blood blockage in the lungs can also cause pulmonary hypertension, a serious condition that can lead to shortness of breath and death.
In addition, the SCD can also affect the eyes and eyesight. Blood blockage in the tiny veins in the eyes can permanently damage the retina, causing long-term visual problems. Over time, this damage can lead to blindness.
Unfortunately, the disease can also significantly compromise the body’s ability to fight off infection. This may put patients at increased risk of developing potentially life-threatening infections. For example, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, pneumonia is a leading cause of death for infants and young children with sickle cell. In addition, the condition also affects the body’s ability to heal itself, and patients can develop open sores called ulcers on their legs.
Sickle cells constantly deprives vital body parts of sufficient amounts of oxygens, which can damage nerves and organs. In particular, sickle cells can do serious damage to the spleen, with misshapen blood cells becoming trapped in the organ and leading to a condition called splenic sequestration. If left untreated this condition is life-threatening.
Old Richard Pryor joke:
Drunk meets Dracula
Drunk: You want suck what? Suck sone blood? Are you crazy? Suck your ass on down to the blood bank and hope you get sickle cell!
Mobb Deep
Sounds like some lame Lucas star wars character
“Because of its genetic component, the disease is almost completely restricted to individuals of African descent.”
The biggest argument against the stupid leftists telling us that “race is a social concept with no genetic basis.”
Ashley Montagu, “Man’s Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race”
“Because of its genetic component, the disease is almost completely restricted to individuals of African descent.”
Actually, although it is clearly a genetic disease, having one copy of the mutated gene was selected for in Africa because it is protective against malaria. Carrying sickle cell trait provides a survival advantage against malaria.
Sickle Cell Disease rarely gets talked about today, compared to decades ago.
Thought not curable, perhaps it has become more treatable now, vs in the 1970’s.
I know of one black girl in my high school class who had it. Very talented artist and good Baptist.
I don’t know if she’s still around or not. Several women with her same name are on the internet. I won’t join facebook just for that idle matter of nostalgia.
"Thank god for the sicle cell" - Animal Mother
Gee. What a loss ...
Years ago (1995) when my son was a patient at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, docs there made a huge breakthrough in sickle cell anemia. That and others that followed have no doubt reduced the numbers of its victims. At the time, tho, it was too late for a little boy who’d been in my son’s unit. Very sad.
Thalessemia. There are two of them. A and B.
My son has a friend with 3 of 4 kids with sickle cell. It has been a very hard road for them.
When I was an undergrad, I worked at the desk of a ward that had 2 sickle cell patients getting new treatments. They would just scream in pain and their lights for the nurse would constantly blink. The nurses told me not to pay attention because the patients had a schedule for their pain killers and they couldn’t give them any more. How awful.
A.F.N.M.F.H
Prodigy died in June 2017...
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