Do what’s right to set an example, and save our children
September: a month of awareness.
Sickle Cell Disease awareness – Sickle Cell afflicts over 100,000 African Americans, distorts red blood cells causing them to block blood vessels and results in intense pain crises and strokes.
Childhood Cancer Awareness – Cancer is the leading disease-related cause of death in children and afflicts nearly 16,000 children each year.
Despite the impact of sickle cell disease and childhood cancer, research for each is alarmingly underfunded.
In contrast to efforts to increase awareness, we have sadly lost an awareness for how precious life is. The staggering numbers of lives lost in the US to the COVID-19 pandemic testifies to that fact. And now the pandemic has shifted to afflict our children, many whom don’t have a choice to get vaccinated but clearly would benefit from adults around them getting vaccinated.
Children depend on us, not only to serve as an example of how to live, but also to protect them as their guardians. Our disregard for our social responsibility has caused new COVID-19 cases to rise dramatically in children, resulting in record hospitalizations. Such neglect seems grounded in misguided information, political fervor and denial.
We need to get vaccinated, wear masks and abstain from gathering in large groups. We need a reminder that life matters, regardless of race or political discourse. Lastly, we need to regain an awareness for what our societal role is and how our personal choices impact the lives of others, particularly our children. Without regaining such an awareness, we will continue to fail our children, whom are our very future.
Jeffery J. Auletta, M.D., Dublin