The Honeybee's Lifestyle

Tag: St. Jude

  • What I Learned At St Jude

    Hello Honeybees,

    As a parent I am always worried and concerned when one of my boys is sick. This allergy season has been really rough on my youngest. The worst year yet for him. I just can not imagine how the parents of children at St Jude feel. These children are dealing with life threatening illnesses. 

    If you live in Memphis you know what a gem we have in our city in St Jude Children’s Research Hospital. I also believe that we take this gem for granted. I know that I am guilty. We all know about the good work that happens at St Jude. I know that families never have to pay for the medical treatments that their child receive. I know that families from out of town have a place to stay so that they can be near their children at the Ronald McDonald House , Target House or Tri Delta Place.

    E for Expenses at St Jude

    As part of the Memphis Blogger & Influencer meetup I had the opportunity to take a tour of St. Jude and learned some very interesting facts.

    St Jude Memphis Blogger Ambassadors

    Did you know that Danny Thomas, founder of St Jude, was instrumental in helping to desegregate the hospitality industry in Memphis? Before there was Ronald McDonald House families stayed at hotels which were not open to people of color. Danny told the hotels that if they couldn’t open their rooms to all that he would take his business elsewhere.

    Did you know that it was the lack of quality healthcare of an African American boy that lead Danny to start St Jude?

    St. Jude Statue

    Did you know that the original architect for St Jude was African American? Paul Williams learned to draw his renderings upside down because he couldn’t be on the same side of the table as Caucasians.  

    To know that St Jude has so much history outside of the medical miracles that it performs everyday is mind blowing.  As part of my #followmeinto50 I am planning to do a fundraising event for St Jude so stay tuned.

    Remember this line because you will see it again….”If you can’t give green, give red”  if you know what that means let me know in the comments.

    BelindaBloggingwithbee

    Beewisdom- Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others- Danny Thomas

  • Spread The Word

    Hello Honeybees,

    Sickle logo

    September is National Sickle Awareness Cell Month

    Why is this important to me and should be important to you?

    Reason one- Sickle Cell disease is inherited and occurs in about 1 out of every 500 Black or African-American births.

    Reason two- I carry the sickle cell trait

    Now carrying the trait (thanks dad) doesn’t really affect my daily life. I’ll probably never be Serena as that kind of intense exercise can be very taxing on my system (Yeah, that’s the reason) & I am anemic but that just means that I need to get enough iron (good thing I love liver & spinach but hate taking iron pills).

    See easy!!

    On the other hand Sickle Cell Disease can and does affect the everyday life of those who inherit it.

    Here is a pic of what a normal red blood cell looks like and one that is sickled.  Because of its shape it decreases the cells ability to effectively carry oxygen and cause other issues.

    Cell pic

    This condition can cause a sickle cell crisis. Sickle cell crisis are episodes of pain that occur with varying frequency and severity. It is usually followed by periods of remission. The risk for a sickle cell crisis increases with any activity that boosts the body’s requirement for oxygen. This may include illness, physical stress, or high altitudes.

    These painful crises can last hours to days. They affect the bones of the back, the long bones, and the chest. The crises can be severe enough to require hospital admission for pain control and IV fluids.

    This is by no means all of the information that we should know about Sickle Cell Disease.  This is just to bring awareness to the disease.  

    What can YOU do to help?

    SPREAD THE WORD

    Visit www.sicklecelldisease.org or  www.sicklecelltn.org or  www.stjude.org and donate your time, talent or treasure.

    You can also donate blood.  Research shows that blood donors with the same ethnic background provide the best match to those with sickle cell disease.

    Let’s be our brothers keeper!!

    Belinda Bee pic

    Beewisdom – We live in challenging times and we need to have each others back.