RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — 8News is taking the lead with raising money for Sickle Cell Disease awareness in Central Virginia.
For the next several months, we’ll be highlighting stories about the disease leading up to the Sickle Cell Unity Ride.
The Dews family has two boys who both have Sickle Cell. They invited 8News anchor Whitney Harris into their home to show how they manage to still be kids.
“It’s a genetic blood disease and it stays with me and I could go into a crisis any minute, really,” Tracy Dews said.
Fourteen-year-old Tracy and his 10-year-old brother Riley Dews are both living with Sickle Cell Disease.
The disease causes cells in the blood to break down in the shape of a “C,” which can block blood flow causing what’s called a “crisis.”
“Pain. A lot of pain? Yes,” Tracy said.
Neither one of them has had a crisis lately, but they remember them vividly.
“I woke up and I didn’t have any feeling in my legs, so I tried to get up and I started screaming for my mom,” Riley said.
Tracy even has an essay about his experiences.
“After being rushed to the ER: A morphine blood transfusion…pain unimaginable, impossible even to the people who have never experienced it before,” Tracy reads from his essay.
Their parents Tiffany and Ronald Dews have learned a lot since their sons were first diagnosed as babies.
“If you keep a proper diet and continue to drink the water, that keeps you hydrated,” Ronald said. “Those things really get into the success and having a successful productive life.”
Sickle Cell is passed down from genes. There’s a trait that you could possess and if both parents have the trait, doctors say there’s a 1 in 4 chance their child will have Sickle Cell.
“I didn’t know that I had the trait,” Tiffany Dews said. “I know that’s a big thing is know your status.”
Which is why the Dews Day Awareness is key, especially among groups like African Americans where Sickle Cell is more common.
“Please, if you don’t know anything, please know your status,” Tiffany said. “If you’re black, white, Asian, Hispanic, whatever — know your status.”
The family stays positive despite the disease.
“Generally they are good healthy kids, you know,” Tiffany said. “Yes, they have pain. Yes, they have been in hospitals. It does cause serious issues and of course death, but we deal with it, we really do.”
“One day, they’ll find a cure whether I’m in the world or not,” Riley said.
The Sickle Cell Unity Ride is on May 6 at the Petersburg Health Department from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. All of the proceeds will be donated to the Sickle Cell Association of Richmond.
The registration fee is $25 per bike. One can also register online.
The lead organization is the Botherz-N-Armz MC out of Chesterfield.
They will help everyone get through the registration line, direct the motorcycles where to park and lead the group behind the police to the final destination which is Second Baptist Church on 3300 Broad Rock Blvd.
Motorcycles should arrive at the church around 11:45 a.m. and all the supporters should arrive at the church no later than 11:30 a.m. to cheer on the bikers.
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