She tells Martin she is angry and also corrects his misunderstanding. It was helpful for Cassie to know some basic facts about her illness and also to feel comfortable telling her friend that he hurt her feelings. Disruption of Routine. The chronic and unpredictable nature of sickle cell disease often interferes with planned activities. Cassie's trip is ruined because of fever.
Fever is a sign of infection, a leading cause of death in sickle cell children.
It may be hard for the child with sickle cell disease to understand the seriousness of fever, especially because parental reaction to fever in an unaffected sibling is very different. Cassie is angry and sad because she cannot go to Atlanta. Her mother is firm about the need to go to the clinic, but she acknowledges Cassie's anger and the unfairness of the situation. Sickle cell trait occurs in one out of every ten African-Americans. Sickle cell trait is not the disease.