Indigo Summer by Monica McKayhan

Author:Monica McKayhan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kimani Press
Published: 2007-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

At the circular drive just outside the emergency room, I put my Jeep in park. Rushed to the backseat, grabbed Justin and rushed him inside. Sasha was right behind me, and both of us called for help.

“Hey there, Justin.” The nurse in rose-colored scrubs, with a name tag which read Jennifer Smith, rushed over toward us. “You here again, little buddy?”

Justin nodded a yes to the nurse who knew him by name, and who had obviously treated him before. Just as quickly, an IV was placed in Justin’s arm and he was whisked off and wheeled down a long hallway.

“Hi, I’m Jennifer Smith.” The nurse held her hand out toward Sasha. “And you are?”

“I’m Sasha Jones, Justin’s babysitter,” she said.

“And I’m his tutor. Marcus Carter,” I said and held my hand out to her as well. She grabbed it and I gave her a strong handshake.

“Nice to meet you both,” she said, and then turned toward Sasha. “Where’s Beverly, his mom?”

“I tried reaching her on the way over, but couldn’t. I left her a message on her voice mail that we were here.” Sasha was still shaken up. “I’ll keep trying, though.”

“Yep, you keep trying,” Jennifer Smith said. “In the meantime, we’re gonna get him started on some oxygen and help to ease his pain a little with some meds.”

“What is this sickle cell that he has?” I had to ask. Everything had happened so fast, I was still in a whirlwind of emotions.

“Sickle cell anemia is a blood disorder that affects hemoglobin, which is a protein found in the red blood cells. Hemoglobin helps carry oxygen throughout the body.”

“Yeah, I learned about that in my biology class,” I told her.

“Well, sickle cell anemia occurs when an abnormal form of hemoglobin is produced, and causes the red blood cells to become odd-shaped or sickle-shaped and makes it harder for them to move freely throughout the body. You understand?”

“A little,” Sasha said.

I just nodded.

“And instead of moving through the bloodstream easily, these sickle-shaped cells can clog the blood vessels and deprive the body’s tissues of oxygen, making people who have sickle cell more tired and weak.”

“Can you catch sickle cell from somebody?” Sasha asked, and I wanted to know the answer to that, too. After all, I had been spending quite a bit of time with Justin, and I was the one who had picked him up and put him in the backseat of my Jeep. I wondered if I would end up with sickle cell anemia before it was all over.

“No, honey. It’s not contagious.” Jennifer smiled. “You can’t catch it from someone or pass it on to another person like a cold or something. People who have sickle cell anemia have inherited from their parents.”

“So Justin’s mom has it?” I asked.

“Beverly has the trait, and so does Justin’s dad.”

“He kept saying something about his joints aching. What’s that about?”

“He’s having what we call a crisis, where he is experiencing excruciating pain in his joints. What was he doing when he went into this crisis?”

“He was riding his bike,” I said.

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