When André Harris Marcel arrived at the emergency room last July, he wasn’t sure if he would make it out alive. Marcel, a 34-year-old Houston resident who is pursuing a doctorate in social work at the University of Houston, lives with sickle cell disease and is a longtime advocate for sickle cell patients.
Those living with the rare, hereditary disease have rigid, crescent-shaped red blood cells. Due to their curved shape, these cells can become stuck in small blood vessels, blocking the flow of blood and causing stroke, infection, and extreme pain—conditions known as a sickle cell crisis. There is currently no cure for sickle cell disease, only techniques for managing symptoms.
