Maurice Dortch is a man of many roles — educator, mentor, drummer, roller skater and proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. But behind his vibrant life is a lifelong battle with sickle cell disease, a condition that has tested his strength in ways most can’t imagine. Maurice was just 2 years old when his mother learned he had sickle cell disease. Since then, he’s faced painful realities of the condition, from pulmonary complications to avascular necrosis that required hip surgery at an early age. Growing up, Maurice had to learn how to listen to his body. ”Being aware of when you’re tired can make or break a sickle cell pain crisis,” he said. “There have been plenty of times when I was just being a kid running around unaware of what I was doing to my body, and in a split second, it’s hard to breathe. Then, boom, I’m being rushed to the hospital.” His first blood transfusion came at age 12. But it was a crisis in his early 30s that nearly took his life. “I remember having a pain...