THE INDIVIDUALITY OF SICKLE CELL
A few weeks ago, I was at the hospital waiting to see my consultant as an outpatient and these two guys were talking about how doctors can put ten people with Sickle Cell in a room and their experiences will all be different in terms of how Sickle Cell affects them. However one this is common amongst us all, the pain of having a crisis.
I have very hot showers when I feel myself that something is not right with my body and I had one of the guys say that he would get up at 2 am to have a very hot shower. I was speechless, thinking in my mind, I am the only one who does this but of course not. Its all about what makes us feel better and doing something that will keep having a crisis at bay.
How can it be, that every individual who suffers from Sickle Cell’s life experience from that of the next person. I have seen people who live an absolutely normal life with Sickle Cell and are down once in a while, others have their mobility affected as a result of this disease; I have seen people who have their vision affected and others who’s organs are affected and those who have to have a blood exchange transfusion every 6-8 weeks, some other people have blood transfusion regularly and some hardly ever; some other suffer liver problems because of the tablets that they take etc… The struggle and pain for people with Sickle Cell is real for those who are seriously affected by it.
As a you can see, Sickle Cell affects us all differently and so one should not judge another person or feel sorry for your yourself. One of these guys that I was listening to was telling us about his job, that involves standing for over 12 hours a day and he is not affected by it. Now, I could not do that; nowadays, driving for 3 hours in a day means I have to rest afterwards. But there might be some things that I could do that maybe he can’t do. The thing with Sickle Cell is that one size does not fit all. So keep on being you and keep on being unique and being individual.
Very remarkable page. I wish to be updated always. Thanks
Hey! Thank you once again and have a very good week ahead. Always nice to hear from you.
You are doing a good job here… Being an sc carrier makes us who we are… We all have our strengths and weaknesses which made us who we are. Talking about it can often be a relief of burden.. While some (like me) still shy away from it
Hi Ayowale, thanks for sharing and getting in touch and making your comments; well, I bleieve you are on the path of not shying away, as you reached out via this medium. Take good care of yourself and talk to you soon.