Her Sickled Journey

“Caught Slipping” Whenever I feel ill I'd exhaust all my options to make my pain go away, drink hot water, use my painkillers, fill up my hot water bottle, find a distraction, sleep etc...and most times it works, but sometimes the pain is just so bad that I find myself calling 111 and they’d confirm that I should be calling 999......*sighs*. “Turn Yourself In” Whenever I’ve called 999 I’ve done it so reluctantly, but when I get a response (which is always & at the first ring may I add) I start to cry. I cry the tears caused by the pain which I’ve been fighting to hold back, I cry in the disbelief that my body could betray me to the point where I can no longer look after myself, and I cry because of the relief that has come from getting an answer, that the ambulance are on their way.  I’m such a different person when I’m ill and only a few of my friends can testify to this. You’ve seen me at my worst if you’ve seen me right before I’ve called the ambulance, it’s not cute, bu...

In the spirit of living my best life I started writing this en route to Miami with my oldest childhood friends and I feel like it’s only fitting to share with you the story of my worst crisis ( which I experienced while travelling ). I can’t even say for sure what it was that caused this crisis but imma tell you everything that happened leading up to it & you can let me know what you think. I spent a full 5 weeks of summer 2016 with family in New Jersey. It was a very fun holiday and I did so much during my time there that wasn’t until the penultimate day that I realised I haven’t been swimming yet. I was thinking how can I spend a whole 5 weeks on holiday and not go swimming once?!...So obviously I went swimming.  Mistake no. 1 - during this time I admit I was not a consistent user of my medicine that I was required to take daily (yikes), I only took it whenever I remembered/felt like it (yikes x2)  Mistake no. 2 - I spent quite a while in the pool as if the ...

The whole idea of crying tears of joy always seemed like a myth to me, until recently.  I was on the phone to a good friend and we were just reminiscing about the last year. The struggles we struggled at uni and the way it took a toll on my health,  then we suddenly realised that it has been over a year since I was last admitted to hospital...On the 9th April 2017 I was discharged from hospital and I haven’t needed to go back since.  From having to go almost every month to not going for more than a year, its nothing short from a miracle…I actually can’t believe I lost count. Over a year.  419 days to be exact  419 days without calling 111 or 999 419 days without being in an ambulance  419 days without tasting that dead hospital food  Even as I’m writing this I haven’t fully deeped it  419 days... The more I started to realise this, the more emotional I got. Then tears started falling from my eyes...tears of...

Just when you think sickle cell can’t get any more intrusive to ones everyday life … it does. I’ve explained how sickle cell can effect travelling , life expectancy and ones day to day life in general, and like thats not enough to deal with, when it comes to being in relationships, sickle cell presents itself as another hinderance. Just imagine finding the person of your dreams only to find out later down the line that you’re not physically compatible, you’re SS and your significant other is AS/SS. This will cause unimaginable heartache and it is something that we (those with full blown sickle cell and those with the trait) need to avoid at all costs. Before I continue with this post please please please understand that this is  solely based on the want to have children  later down the line. I personally can never bring a child into this world who has sickle cell. Having witnessed the pain & inconvenience that sickle cell causes, first hand & on a daily b...

Up until recently I viewed sickle cell as a lonely condition, and to a certain extent it can be, but the reality is that that is not 100% the case. Fair enough, when it comes to maintaining your health and things like the pain, us sickle cell warriors are in the driving seat, but when I think about all the people in my life that sickle cell has affected one way or another, I realise that it is not a thing that I go through by myself. Yes, I’m affected the most but I cannot be ignorant of the fact that there is a knock on effect. I’ve noticed that in those around me, sickle cell has sometimes caused a strain…be it emotional/ physical/ financial (sometimes all three), and the majority of times I am not able to relieve the strain my condition has caused to those around me.  I try my best to put less pressure on those around me by looking after myself the best way I possibly can. However, sometimes my best is not good enough, and I have realised that I need to stop putting so ...

The love I have for travelling is like no other. Travelling is something that I am fortunate enough to do frequently and it brings me so much joy. I love immersing myself in different cultures and experiencing different ways of living. However as someone living with sickle cell, travelling can be a completely different experience, for me it’s definitely a more stressful one. I’m writing this on a plane, Nigeria bound to spend the Christmas holiday with my family, and while preparing for this trip I was reminded about the worst crisis that I’ve ever experienced in this my 21 years of living. This crisis was on a plane and I was extremely underprepared for it, so to prevent this unpreparedness for anyone else I’ve listed a few things below that, as an individual with sickle cell, have to be considered while travelling: beforehand, during and while you’re abroad. (btw I’ll talk about my worst crisis in another post). First Things First   Pack for Every Situation - Tito a...

You know them ones when you haven’t been ill for a while and you forget what it feels like? Well that was me and as I was approaching my 7th month without a crisis the cold weather handed me a rude reminder of what it’s like to be in pain. I woke up on the 1st of November with a sharp pain in my left leg. Describing a sickle cell crisis is something that I’ve always found difficult but I’ve watched YouTube videos where fellow sickle cell warriors would describe the the pain as “worst than giving birth/a constant “hammering”, “stabbing”, “throbbing” feeling/worst than getting shot”… I personally cannot describe the pain in those ways because I’ve never actually had those experiences before. But I can say that the pain is terrible. It’s disabling. Simple tasks that I could have easily done without a second thought, I can no longer do. I remember that day a simple 10 second walk to the bathroom took me a good 5 minutes.   When I fell ill I was in complete shock, and I kinda f...