Kentucky Red Cross Honors the Life of Debra “Granny” Smith

Today, the Kentucky Red Cross honors the life of one of our volunteers, Debra “Granny” Smith. Debra passed on Tuesday, September 7. Debra has been a beloved volunteer with the Red Cross Eastern and Bluegrass Area Chapters since 2015, and gave more than 5,000 volunteer hours to the Red Cross.

Debra was recruited as a volunteer by her granddaughter, Bluegrass Area Chapter Disaster Program Manager Amanda Shotton, and began volunteering wherever she was needed. Eventually she settled into the Duty Officer role supporting our Disaster Action Team (DAT). She also worked closely beside her daughter, Eastern KY Chapter Disaster Program Specialist Melissa McGill, to ensure there was volunteer coverage for the chapter.

Debra (center) with Melissa (left) and Amanda (right)
volunteering at a Sound the Alarm event

Debra could be counted on for many roles within disaster services, including Disaster Action Team Intake, Duty Officer, and providing preparedness education and administrative support to the chapters. During just this past year, Debra was instrumental in making sure Red Cross services continued during the pandemic as well as during the many disaster responses Kentucky faced, including the recent flooding in eastern Kentucky.

Due to her extensive experience, leadership abilities and dedication, Debra served as a leader and mentor to volunteers throughout the Region. In the Eastern Kentucky Chapter, Debra helped guide both new and experienced DAT members. Within the Bluegrass Area Chapter, she served as a mentor helping train responders in the roles of both DAT member and DAT Duty Officer.

Debra also worked closely with her daughter and granddaughter as part of her disaster team role and on our home fire and preparedness campaigns. She attended Sound the Alarm events, Pillowcase Project presentations, delivered smoke alarms, input forms from events and more. While preparedness programs were paused for much of the 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Debra continued to strengthen our community ties by working closely with fire departments and county dispatchers.

Debra’s continued contributions to the Red Cross, the Kentucky Region and both the Eastern Kentucky and Bluegrass Area Chapters were an ongoing example of the best of Red Cross volunteers, and for those reasons, earlier this year she was nominated for a Clara Barton Award in both chapters. The Clara Barton Award recognizes meritorious service in volunteer leadership positions held over a period of years. Her dedication to the Red Cross mission and service delivery on behalf of individuals and families rose above the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, and her positive attitude, love of the mission and willingness to help regardless of the area of responsibility, embodied and exceeded the characteristics honored by the Clara Barton award.

Debra’s dedication to her community and family is indicative of the kind of person she was: Someone who was always willing to help those faced with tragedy and disaster. She was an exemplary volunteer, a dear friend and has left a lasting mark on the work of our disaster services. She will be greatly missed.

Credit to: Zach Stokes and Jim Mistretta

For patients with sickle cell disease, blood transfusions are essential

Seventeen-year-old Demarus Torrence loves comics and sci-fi movies, and like his favorite superheroes, he’s awfully brave himself. Demarus lives with sickle cell disease, the most common inherited blood disorder, which affects about 100,000 people in the U.S.

 

What is sickle cell disease?

•       Sickle cell disease makes red blood cells hard and sickle-shaped instead of soft and round.

•       Blood flow can be blocked and impact oxygen delivery.

•       It can cause severe pain, strokes and organ damage.

•       Sickle cell disease disproportionately impacts the Black community.

 

Like many others with sickle cell disease, Demarus endures monthly blood transfusions, and, at times, regular hospital stays to help with extreme pain and other complications. “Just imagine someone hitting your back with a hammer, constantly, and it just won’t stop,” says Demarus’ mother, Passion Terrell. “[Demarus] describes it, and you can picture it, but you really can’t.”

Blood transfusion is essential in managing the very real pain and long-term health of those with sickle cell disease. Transfusions provide healthy red blood cells to help deliver oxygen throughout the body and unblock blood vessels. For Demarus, blood transfusions make a world of difference to his health. “It’s amazing – once he gets that blood in him, it’s like a different person,” Passion said. “His breathing improves; his blood levels improve. It’s like his body wakes up.”

A patient with sickle cell disease can require up to 100 units of blood each year to treat complications from the disease. Many may need to receive blood transfusions throughout their lives. Unfortunately, these patients may develop an immune response against blood from donors that is not closely matched to their own. Many individuals who are Black have distinct markers on their red blood cells that make their donations ideal for helping patients with sickle cell disease.  

To help ensure closely matched blood products are available for patients with sickle cell disease, the American Red Cross has launched a national initiative to grow the number of blood donors who are Black.

Join with the Red Cross to help address this health disparity by making an appointment to give blood:

·         Sign up at RedCrossBlood.org.

·         Sign up with the Red Cross Blood Donor App.

·         Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

·         Or enable the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device.