When you meet Miss Clark the first thing you notice is her warm and humorous personality and infectious laughter. To look at Miss. Clark you would think that she has much to smile and laugh about. It appears she does not have a care in the world. However, this is not the case. You would never know that she too suffers from Sickle Cell Disease. Miss. Clark - at 60 - is our oldest surviving Sickle Cell client in Austin. She was born on December 17, 1944, in Elgin, Texas.
But her journey has not been an easy one, which unfortunately is the case for most Sickle Cell sufferers. Miss Clark first recalls how her gallbladder had to be removed. This is not uncommon for children and adults suffering from Sickle Cell Disease. She then goes on to discuss how she had an anureysem. You can barely see the scar tucked away behind her hair. She says that the doctors had given her up to die on three separate occasions. When she suffered an anyrsuem in her brain, Miss Clark coded but was successfully recesitated. On another hospital stay she talks about how it was discovered that her liver was wrapped around her kidneys. "Sickle Cell is a horrible disease. No one was there when I was growing up to really help us. My mother had it hard." Her mother, Nell Jessie Owens Clark had eight children. Miss Clark is the only one who has sickle cell disease, but some of her siblings carry the silent hereditary sickle cell trait. "Other than my family and a few relatives, we didn't have any support." Miss Clark also has a four year old nephew who suffers from Sickle Cell Disease.
Told she could never have children, Miss Clark was blessed to have four children and 13 grandchildren. She also has a wonderful husband whom she calls "Anderson."
Linda Thomas recalls when she and her husband Marc went for their first home visit to see Miss. Clark. "My husband talked to her about the different types of Sickle Cell Disease, the importance of hydration, and other important educational facts. Miss. Clark would burst out laughing and say 'I didn't know that.'"
She says, "when I was growing up there was nothing. My mother went through. I see what this organization is doing and how it is helping people. People with Sickle Cell Disease need help now on a local level and that's why I support." Miss. Clark sometimes wonder why she is still here and then she remembers it's to help the Sickle Cell Association of Austin-Marc Thomas Chapter and others who suffer. |
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