Evelyn Washington has spent decades working for the state of Mississippi. Now, she’s asking her native state to do more.
A former longtime employee of Coahoma Community College (CCC), Washington is the mom of a sickle cell anemia patient, a role that has defined her adult life even more than her years as a state employee.
Those years have brought concern over her life span and daily health. They have also brought an awareness of how little Mississippi does for those suffering from the debilitating and disheartening condition.
“It has been difficult,” noted Washington, a resident of Rome in Sunflower County. “My child’s life expectancy was supposed to be short, and that is a horrible thing for a mother.”
Her son, DaMarius DeUndrae Washington, is now 36 years old.
Sickle cell anemia affects approximately one out of every 365 African Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The condition causes red blood cells (that are typically round) to become smaller and shaped like a sickle.
The sickle cells die earlier than typical red blood cells, resulting in less oxygen being available to the body, according to the Mayo Clinic’s website. Resulting effects include a shortened life span, along with daily issues like fatigue and pain.
Because the state of Mississippi has America’s largest percentage of African American citizens, the condition is especially problematic in the Magnolia State.
Now a doctoral student at Walden University, where she majors in Public Health with a community emphasis, Washington believes the state and insurance companies can and should do more. But it’s one thing to think that and an entirely different matter to step up and make something happen.
“I’m conducting a study of African American sickle cell patients in the Mississippi Delta,” she said. “The goal is to give state leaders a true understanding of how Black people in the Delta suffer more than they should, without the right types of help.”
The study involves a one-time, 45-minute interview with Washington. The interview will cover two topics, with one being demographics such as age, marital status, employment history and educational background. This information will serve as the background data for the study. The second topic will be details about daily life suffering from sickle cell anemia.
“One of the biggest problems with sickle cell is that it affects the person’s ability to work a job,” Washington said. “The condition causes fatigue and pain, two problems that prevent people from working when they strike. Also, employers often don’t want to hire sickle cell patients and work around their disability.”
According to Washington, available sources of benefits for sickle cell sufferers are insufficient to live on. “We have to do more for a condition that causes disability,” she added.
For the study, Washington is seeking African Americans, male or female, who live in either Coahoma, Bolivar, Quitman, Tallahatchie or Sunflower counties. She seeks those between the ages of 18 and 36 who have been diagnosed with sickle cell anemia by a physician. For the purposes of the interview, the participants in the study need to speak and understand the English language.
For Washington, a Tallahatchie County native of Sumner, support of advancements for the sickle cell community has become a quest.
She is also personally promoting a 5K run on April 9 in Sumner, sponsored by and benefiting the Mississippi Sickle Cell Foundation. The event will begin at the Emmett Till Multi-Purpose Complex running range at 12698 Highway 49 E. near Sumner.
The daughter of Earline M. Ellis, Washington is a 1981 graduate of West Tallahatchie High School. In 1985, she graduated from CCC. She later continued her educational journey, obtaining a Bachelor of Social Work with a major in biology from Delta State University in 2000. She also has received a Master of Science in Community from DSU.
For additional information on the study and about the 5K run, Washington can be reached through her Walden University email address: evelyn.washington@waldenu.edu.
