Jackson Free Press

Shortly after relocating to Jackson from South Carolina, Larry and Dee Nixon established the Cure Sickle Cell Foundation to raise awareness of SCD and support families affected by the disease.

Larry, 32, and his wife, Dee, 31, have watched their 5-year-old son, Jaden, battle the disease since just after his birth. Jaden became the one out of every 400 African Americans to have SCD, a blood disorder that affects every organ in the body (one out of every 12 African Americans is a carrier).

Long before the challenge of SCD, Larry and Dee met as two promising teenagers in South Carolina; they were high school sweethearts. After graduation, both attended the Medical University of South Carolina, where Larry studied to be a doctor, and Dee went to nursing school. Dee was committed to finishing nursing school before marriage, so she and Larry waited to marry until after she graduated in May 2000. The couple welcomed Jaden into the world within a year.

After Larry completed his residency in anesthesiology in 2005, he received numerous job offers in Atlanta, and was set to make the move when he received a call from a recruiter in Mississippi with Surgical Anesthesia Associates. "God really led us here," Larry says.

Hit with Hurricane Katrina and the passing of Larry's mother in their first month living in Jackson, the road was bumpy for the Nixons at first. But Larry and Dee got involved in community groups and soon felt right at home—so much at home that they started the Cure Sickle Cell Foundation.

"We know this is what we're supposed to be doing," says Dee, whose daily routine consists of rituals to prevent Jaden from getting sick. This includes keeping him hydrated, administering folic acid and until this year, giving him penicillin.

The foundation holds a number of events, health fairs and educational programs throughout the year. On Sept. 29 and 30, they held their Second Annual Walk & Gala. This two-part event is their biggest fund raiser of the year and marks the end of National Sickle Cell Awareness Month.

Although Jaden is young, his understanding and acceptance of his disorder awes his parents sometimes. "I haven't had my rest, yet, Dad," is often Jaden's response to his dad's attempts to let him go play.

The Nixons want to make life for Jaden as normal as possible, and have enrolled him in musical activities. When Jaden is performing "We Will Rock You" on the drums, or playing the "Star Wars" theme on the violin, he enjoys himself just as any healthy child would. To learn more about fighting SCD, visit the Cure Sickle Cell Foundation's website.

Previous Comments

ID

82650

Comment

Touching story. I have nephew who has suffered from SCD from birth to now a 17 year old. He has an amazing spirit and outlook on life despite being so sick so often that I can barely stand to tolerate the suffering.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-10-04T11:04:51-06:00

ID

82651

Comment

SCD can be a very painful and debilitating desease. My hat goes off to Dr. Nixon and his wife who are facing the challenge of their son's life with much love and support. And if that were not enough, this couple is actually able to reach out to other through their Cure Sickle Cell Foundation. Two of my sons have SCT (sickle cell trait). There are some do's and don'ts for them because even a person with the trait could become symptomatic when doing such things as flying, deep sea diving, ect. The greatest factor of all is the one that the couple faced and that is the possibility of having a child with SCD if both parents have the trait. It was a thing of ignorance for me - I didn't know. Never thought about it. My spouce had the trait. I worked for UMC for a # of years and back then we would test for sickle cell. During the early 70s, this became a hot topic and some black thought it to be a game of vicarious genocide being done on Blacks.

Author

justjess

Date

2007-10-04T11:41:21-06:00