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 ...

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 ...