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Chasing the Crescent Moon: The Story of Dr. Frempong and Sickle Cell Disease

From: Aaron Schwartz
Length: 00:59:00

A documentary exploring sickle cell disease and an extraordinary doctor who is fighting the illness in Philadelphia and West Africa. Read the full description.

Crescentlogowithoutfill_small A genetic disease mostly affecting those of African descent, sickle cell produces debilitating pain and a life sometimes cut short, especially for the undiagnosed. And as a burden largely borne by the underprivileged, sickle cell is not just a medical problem, but a social one. Chasing the Crescent Moon explores the challenges posed by sickle cell through the story of one physician and the lives he has touched. Dr. Kwaku Ohene-Frempong grew from a child of Ghanaian cocoa farmers to become a Yale scholar, an Olympic athlete, and one of the most important international warriors against sickle cell. He also bore a son who suffers from the disease. In his greatest accomplishment, Dr. Frempong established the only city-wide newborn screening for sickle cell in all of West Africa, where 1 in 50 babies suffers from the illness. The documentary relates Dr. Frempong's remarkable journey as well as the dramatic stories of his coworkers, staff, patients and their families. Set in Ghana and Philadelphia, the documentary travels from the high tech Comprehensive Sickle Cell Clinic that Dr. Frempong heads at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to his overcrowded Ghanaian clinic. The stories educate, advocate and entrance, conveying the unusual medical and social burdens faced by those fighting sickle cell. Available free to all stations. The program includes two 59-second breaks (with music beds) at 22:56 and 40:49.

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Piece Description

A genetic disease mostly affecting those of African descent, sickle cell produces debilitating pain and a life sometimes cut short, especially for the undiagnosed. And as a burden largely borne by the underprivileged, sickle cell is not just a medical problem, but a social one. Chasing the Crescent Moon explores the challenges posed by sickle cell through the story of one physician and the lives he has touched. Dr. Kwaku Ohene-Frempong grew from a child of Ghanaian cocoa farmers to become a Yale scholar, an Olympic athlete, and one of the most important international warriors against sickle cell. He also bore a son who suffers from the disease. In his greatest accomplishment, Dr. Frempong established the only city-wide newborn screening for sickle cell in all of West Africa, where 1 in 50 babies suffers from the illness. The documentary relates Dr. Frempong's remarkable journey as well as the dramatic stories of his coworkers, staff, patients and their families. Set in Ghana and Philadelphia, the documentary travels from the high tech Comprehensive Sickle Cell Clinic that Dr. Frempong heads at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to his overcrowded Ghanaian clinic. The stories educate, advocate and entrance, conveying the unusual medical and social burdens faced by those fighting sickle cell. Available free to all stations. The program includes two 59-second breaks (with music beds) at 22:56 and 40:49.

Broadcast History

An evergreen piece. First aired 8/08. The largest stations that carried it are Chicago Public Radio, WGBH Boston, and WCPN Cleveland.

Timing and Cues

Two 59-second breaks (with music beds) beginning at 22:56 and 40:49.

Musical Works

Title Artist Album Label Year Length
Ama Bonsu Ramblers Dance Band The Hit Sound of the Ramblers Dance Band. Flame Tree 2000 00:20
Ima Abasi Ramblers Dance Band The Hit Sound of the Ramblers Dance Band. Flame Tree 2000 01:07
Remember Me As a Time of Day Explosions in the Sky How Strange, Innocence. Temporary Residence 2005 01:40
Meni Nda Obiara Ramblers Dance Band The Hit Sound of the Ramblers Dance Band. Flame Tree 2000 00:30
Glittering Blackness Explosions in the Sky How Strange, Innocence. Temporary Residence 2005 00:25
Motherless Bastard The Books Thought for Food. Tomlab 2002 01:15
Red Moon Jami Sieber Hidden Sky. Magnatune 2004 01:00
Meni Nda Obiara Ramblers Dance Band The Hit Sound of the Ramblers Dance Band. Flame Tree 2000 00:13
Soyama Ramblers Dance Band The Hit Sound of the Ramblers Dance Band. Flame Tree 2000 01:11
Damn Right I am Somebody, pt. 1 The J.B.'s Pass The Peas: The Best Of The J.B.'s. Polydor / Umgd 2000 00:34

Additional Files

Related Website

http://chasingthecrescentmoon.wordpress.com/