Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The first Calvin’s Crusade against Sickle Cell event was held in memory of Calvin Lamar Hines at the Hardin Street Complex in Opp on Sunday, Sept. 1.

Calvin was diagnosed with sickle cell when he was only 4 years old in 1988. Since his diagnosis, Calvin’s mother Jacqueline Caldwell set out to help spread awareness about sickle cell. The month of September has been set aside to help spread awareness about the disease.

Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that affects red blood cells. People with sickle cell disease have red blood cells that contain mostly hemoglobin S, an abnormal type of hemoglobin. Sometimes these red blood cells become sickle-shaped (crescent shaped) and have difficulty passing through small blood vessels. When sickle-shaped cells block small blood vessels, less blood can reach that part of the body. Tissue that does not receive a normal blood flow eventually becomes damaged. This causes the complications of sickle cell disease, and there is currently no universal cure.

Sickle cell conditions are inherited from parents in much the same way as blood type, hair color and texture, eye color and other physical traits. The types of hemoglobin a person makes in the red blood cells depend upon what hemoglobin genes the person inherits from his or her parents. Like most genes, hemoglobin genes are inherited in two sets, one from each parent.

Calvin has since passed on, not from the disease but from a terrible car accident that occurred last January. Laquina Lockett came up with an idea to help keep spreading the awareness of this disease and also to keep the fight that her brother/cousin went through daily by having this event annually in Opp at the Hardin Street Complex. This year’s event featured food, games, vendors, and inflatables. All proceeds from the event went to the National Sickle Cell Organization.

“We would like to make next year’s event bigger and have softball and kickball teams and all different kinds of vendors. If you would like to donate or participate in next year’s event, please contact Laquina Lockett at 910-527-6414,” Damika Caldwell said.