When you get sick, not only do you have to process and deal with all the medications, symptoms and effects of the medication, changes you have to make to treat your illness, but socially you may have to withdraw from activities you once loved, making it hard to nurture friendships and relationships with those close to you.
It’s hard for loved ones to understand why you might have to call off your plans at the last minute or have to leave suddenly during the middle of what might seem like an exciting event. I have come to realise that the road travelled by people with Sickle Cell can sometimes be a lonely one. It is difficult to call a friend with whom you just spent hours with that when you got home you’re in pain. How do you say to the person, who saw you about 30 minutes ago, that you are sick? You think it’s probably best to not say anything and soldier on; why, because even for you who has lived with the disease for years, it is difficult to explain. Sickle Cell will make you want to isolate yourself but you must not.
Oluwatobi K has her own experience to share. She said, “I have lived with Sickle Cell anaemia for 26 years. I’m a graduate of Lagos State University with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy.
“During my NYSC programme in Lagos, I camped at Iyana-Ipaja and went through the rigorous exercises. By the third day of camp, I broke down as I needed medical attention urgently.
“I could not deal with the whole stress, so I left the camp. Securing a job has also been a big issue. Either during interviews they find out I have Sickle Cell or the job ends up being too strenuous for me.
“Living with this blood disease has not been easy but God has been my rock and shield.
“Growing up, I fell sick a lot, about two or three times in a month and it would last two days or sometimes more.
“With time, I got to know I was born with Sickle Cell and found out that crisis occurs with pain in the bones.
“I’m very sociable and always interested in engaging myself with things but with time I realised there is a limit to what I can do.
“When I think about it, it saddens my heart because I always want to do more but I feel weak easily and people tend to think I’m lazy.
“Whenever crisis arises, I take the pain for a day or two, drink enough water, something warm, take my medication and use mentholated cream to rub my body.
“Sometimes, I feel like why not just die rather than go through this pain all the time. I never went to the hospital to treat crisis until last year April, and I had never had blood transfusion all my life till then.
“Last year, when I started having pains on my chest, I couldn’t wear a bra during that period. Initially, I thought my bra was tight that’s why the pain kept reoccurring; but my breathing started seizing and the pain got worse and I could no longer bear it and so was rushed to the hospital.
“I was on oxygen throughout my stay there, I thought I was going to die at the time because I had never experienced such excruciating pain.
“It was acute chest syndrome, that was what the doctor called it, plus my blood level was four per cent, which had never happened to me before and I had to be given blood transfusion.
“Ever since, I have been going for counselling every three to four months on how to manage my health better.
“During my secondary school days, there was this girl in my class who always made fun of me due to my health issues.
“At the time, I would cry and always feel embarrassed. Over the years, I have come across people that look at me and ask silly questions like why is your hand like this or your eyes? As a result, I always feel inferior when I’m around people.
“I have come to grasp that most people look down on Sickle Cell warriors which is very bad because we did not choose to be alive with the condition.
“In Nigeria, there’s this mentality that people with Sickle Cell don’t live long and that is not true, with the help of medical science and self-care, there are people living very long these days.
“I once had a friend who told me how much he despised people with SS and how he broke up with his ex-girlfriend. He had no idea I was one, so I educated him about Sickle Cell anaemia and told him to read more about it.
“The following day, he said I was right and SS is not that bad, so I revealed to him about having Sickle Cell and he was shocked but accepted me.
“With time, he cut all ties with me, he never said why but I knew he could not stand being with another victim.
“People tend to alienate themselves from people with Sickle Cell and vice versa. People don’t understand that we need to be loved because this goes a long way.”
Can I suggest that you start eating more pineapple and the reasons are that this popular fruit is packed with nutrients, antioxidants and other helpful compounds such as enzymes that can fight inflammation and diseases.
Pineapple and its compounds have been linked to many health benefits including aiding digestion, boosting immunity and speeding up recovery from surgery, among others. Pineapple is loaded with nutrients – protein, carbs, fibre, vitamin B6, copper, thiamin, folate, potassium, magnesium, niacin, pantothenic acid, riboflavin, iron. Pineapples also contain some amounts of vitamins A and K, phosphorus, zinc and calcium.
They are especially rich in vitamin C and manganese, providing 131 per cent and 76 per cent of the daily recommendations, respectively. Vitamin C is essential for growth and development, a healthy immune system and aiding the absorption of iron from the diet.
Meanwhile, manganese is a naturally occurring mineral that aids growth, maintains a healthy metabolism and has antioxidant properties. Not only are pineapples rich in nutrients, they are also loaded with healthy antioxidants.
Pineapples are especially rich in antioxidants known as flavonoids and phenolic acids. Many of the antioxidants in pineapple are bound. This allows the antioxidants to survive harsher conditions in the body and produce longer lasting effects.
Pineapples contain bromelain, a group of digestive enzymes that breaks down proteins, this eases and aids digestion. Pineapples have anti-inflammatory properties that boost the immune system.
If you would like to get in touch with me, please do so by email on t.dehinde@yahoo.com and do visit my blog: www.howtolivewithsicklecell.co.uk.
Credit: Tola Dehinde, Punch