Warren boy with sickle-cell is Pilot for a Day

VIENNA

Thirteen-year-old Javionte Allen of Warren took Wednesday off from classes at Lincoln Elementary School in Warren to be sworn in as an honorary Air Force Reserve second lieutenant and become Pilot for a Day for the 910th Airlift Wing at Youngstown Air Reserve Station.

Javionte, an eighth-grader, is the son of Tia Allen of Warren and grandson of Lorayn Hughley, Stephanie Jordan and Ricky Hughley.

The purpose of the “Pilot for a Day” program is to reach out to the community by providing a fun-filled day of activities to children who live with a chronic or life-threatening disease or illness.

Javionte has sickle-cell anemia, which requires periodic treatments at Akron Children’s Hospital Mahoning Valley in Boardman and medication to reduce the pain associated with the condition.

Sickle-cell disease, most common in people of African descent, is an inherited blood disorder that affects red blood cells. People with the disease have red blood cells that contain an abnormal type of hemoglobin. Sometimes these red blood cells become sickle-shaped (crescent shaped) and have difficulty passing through small blood vessels.

Sickle cells are destroyed rapidly in the body of people with the disease, causing anemia, jaundice and the formation of gallstones, according to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America.

Also, according to SCDAA, the sickle cells block the flow of blood through vessels, resulting in lung-tissue damage (acute chest syndrome), pain episodes (arms, legs, chest and abdomen) and stroke. It also causes damage to most organs.

For more on Javionte and his condition, read Thursday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.