Each crisis interferes with a person's life.

If the pain is severe, it can prevent a person from going to work or school.

Sufferers cannot do things that require lots of physical energy.

Della enjoys playing sports.

But he has learned to stop when he feels tired. He has also learned to enjoy other things.

"Instead of excelling physically outdoors, I stay in and think creatively. I write music and come up with program ideas. I use my mind [instead of] my body."

There is no cure for Sickle Cell Anemia. But it can be prevented.

You see, Sickle Cell Anemia is a hereditary disease. It is in the genes that parents pass to their children. This disease cannot be passed in any other way.

Della has Sickle Cell Anemia. So he knows that he will pass the gene to his children.

But a child must get a Sickle Cell gene from both parents in order to have the disease.