"NEED FEEDBACK!"
I am scheduled to join a group of Des Moines Public School nurses at their staff meeting and will be delivering a speech about Sickle Cell Disease. What do you think of the following speech?
Thank you for allowing me time to come and speak to you about Sickle Cell Anemia, which is an inherited devastating disease of red blood cells that affect the hemoglobin and is predominately present in African-Americans. As you all know, normal blood cells are shaped like donuts but sickle red blood cells become hard and sticky and are shaped like sickles used to cut wheat. When those cells go through the small blood tube, they clog the flow and break apart. This is what causes pain, damage and a low blood count called anemia.
I became interested in trying to fight against Sickle Cell disease when two of my granddaughters were born with it. The older of the two has a more severe case of the disease than her younger sister. During her twelve years of life she has had to experience frequent hospitalizations every time she had a temperature as a result of a cold, etc., which in her case has been frequent. As a child gets older the disease will progress. Not only has she had to get used to taking many different medications, and pain episodes and has had to give herself daily growth hormone shots to help her grow and also help her go into puberty. Even though she is growing, she remains smaller than most kids her age. Additionally, a child with Sickle Cell disease will take longer than usual to stop bed wetting.
A few years ago, it was discovered that she was beginning to have strokes and that she’d had mild strokes as a toddler. The doctor determined that she would have to undergo monthly transfusions in an effort to eliminate the strokes. The transfusions worked for a while but she began to have occasional strokes again; therefore, becoming a candidate for a bone marrow transplant which was performed two years ago. The procedure was devastating because before the transplant, she had chemotherapy and radiation which was very hard on her. Shortly after the transplant, her body resisted the stem cells and the transplant failed; because the donor was not a sibling. She is scheduled to have a second transplant, using the umbilical cord from her 3-month old baby sister who does not have the disease, but first, she had to have brain surgery on both sides because she developed a disease called moya, moya.
The younger of the two, during this past year has suffered a few strokes and also has to have monthly transfusions. We are praying that her disease will not progress and by the grace of God, she can be spared of this.
While raising money for the transplant, I have met many people who either have the disease or have relatives with it. Some of them do not know much about the disease because there has been no publicity about it. I am here today to admonish the school system to include information about Sickle Cell disease as a part of the health studies and to make the students aware that they need to be tested for the disease or the trait before deciding to have children. If both partners have the trait (are carriers), the children can inherit the disease and will spend a great deal of their lives in the hospital.
Thank you for allowing me time to come and speak to you about Sickle Cell Anemia, which is an inherited devastating disease of red blood cells that affect the hemoglobin and is predominately present in African-Americans. As you all know, normal blood cells are shaped like donuts but sickle red blood cells become hard and sticky and are shaped like sickles used to cut wheat. When those cells go through the small blood tube, they clog the flow and break apart. This is what causes pain, damage and a low blood count called anemia.
I became interested in trying to fight against Sickle Cell disease when two of my granddaughters were born with it. The older of the two has a more severe case of the disease than her younger sister. During her twelve years of life she has had to experience frequent hospitalizations every time she had a temperature as a result of a cold, etc., which in her case has been frequent. As a child gets older the disease will progress. Not only has she had to get used to taking many different medications, and pain episodes and has had to give herself daily growth hormone shots to help her grow and also help her go into puberty. Even though she is growing, she remains smaller than most kids her age. Additionally, a child with Sickle Cell disease will take longer than usual to stop bed wetting.
A few years ago, it was discovered that she was beginning to have strokes and that she’d had mild strokes as a toddler. The doctor determined that she would have to undergo monthly transfusions in an effort to eliminate the strokes. The transfusions worked for a while but she began to have occasional strokes again; therefore, becoming a candidate for a bone marrow transplant which was performed two years ago. The procedure was devastating because before the transplant, she had chemotherapy and radiation which was very hard on her. Shortly after the transplant, her body resisted the stem cells and the transplant failed; because the donor was not a sibling. She is scheduled to have a second transplant, using the umbilical cord from her 3-month old baby sister who does not have the disease, but first, she had to have brain surgery on both sides because she developed a disease called moya, moya.
The younger of the two, during this past year has suffered a few strokes and also has to have monthly transfusions. We are praying that her disease will not progress and by the grace of God, she can be spared of this.
While raising money for the transplant, I have met many people who either have the disease or have relatives with it. Some of them do not know much about the disease because there has been no publicity about it. I am here today to admonish the school system to include information about Sickle Cell disease as a part of the health studies and to make the students aware that they need to be tested for the disease or the trait before deciding to have children. If both partners have the trait (are carriers), the children can inherit the disease and will spend a great deal of their lives in the hospital.
posted by The Gig at 8:13 PM
4 Comments:
It is good. I know you will do a great job in delivering this speech as well.
When you go, ask the Lord, "Lord, open my mouth and help me find the right words to speak, so that I may help others."
Good, just practice in front of a mirror, and try to remember as much as possible so you wont have to read it
Does the group you're presenting to know the purpose of your presentation beforehand?
I'm just wondering because you start out thanking them for allowing you to speak on Sickle Cell Anemia which they already know about. Certainly they would be left to wonder what it is about the topic that you're trying to promote. I would suggest letting them know that upfront. The same thing you said in your conclusion should be part of your introduction.
I would suggest reminding them that Sickle Cell Anemia is a little understood condition among youth and there are things about it that you believe children need to know (and list them). Then go into why you chose that topic. Then modify the conclusion to reiterate your introduction.
Just my 2c.
Has the speech given already? Sorry, but I thought you were still out of town.
A very good speech. I think the stories about your granddaughters are harrowing, but also powerful because they hit so close to home.
Thanks for the informative piece. I did not know anything about the disease.
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