The spread of the coronavirus means that those of us with sickle cell disease need to be extremely cautious. We have all been advised to practice social distancing. I have been in my house for a week now and have become bored due to my lack of routine. So…
Her Sickled Journey — Tito Oye
Tito is a 23-year-old London-based tenancy manager and lover of life. For as long as she can remember, she’s had a passion for helping others. She writes to help others realize that sickle cell doesn’t need to define their entire identity.
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Now that the summer months have passed, I find that it’s harder to forget that I have sickle cell disease. You may be thinking, “How can she ever forget that she has sickle cell?” Well, I never really forget, but there are times when looking after myself requires less…
Swimming is an essential life skill. Everyone should learn to swim, as it could be the difference between life and death. My parents believed similarly and signed me up for swimming lessons as a child. However, I don’t remember the lessons so much as the pain and frequent hospital admissions.
I rarely leave London, but this weekend I went on a mini “staycation” to Kent with 24 of my friends for a birthday celebration. Packing We rented a mansion on Airbnb with enough space for the 25 of us, though I was not sure what the environment in the house…
Many things can trigger a sickle cell crisis. The first triggers I experienced ranged from temperature changes in my environment to dehydration. But as I got older, I began to experience a new trigger that took me by surprise: stress. The Oxford dictionary defines stress as a “state…
Fatigue is a common symptom associated with sickle cell disease. Due to the smaller size of our red blood cells, we cannot carry as much oxygen as those with healthier red blood cells. This leads to a lack of oxygen in our bodies and, ultimately, fatigue. Fatigue describes the feeling…
Living with sickle cell disease is not easy. It affects every area of one’s life. An important part of managing the challenges that come with the disease is having a solid support system. I do not have any close friends with sickle cell, but I…
My hospital also is a university full of medical students. Trainees follow their supervisors from patient to patient to get a sense of how their work applies to real-life situations. Nine times out of 10, I love interacting with students. I love to discover the person behind the uniform, and…
For most of my life, I hid the fact that I have sickle cell disease. People only knew about my health if they needed to know. In other words, the only ones I could talk to about it were my immediate family members and doctors. This was not ideal growing…
We were nearing the end of a biology lesson. In an attempt to excite the class for the next lesson, my teacher put up a slide that read, “Why people with sickle cell die young.” I froze. I knew that the topic would come up eventually, but I did not…
Sickle cell disease is a condition that mostly affects people from an African or African-Caribbean origin. Nevertheless, the majority of those who have treated me for this condition have been healthcare professionals of other races. I don’t think they would have typically interacted with sickle cell patients prior to…
I previously shared some tips for managing sickle cell. If you found those useful, I have a few more suggestions that also may help. Deep Heat I find that when I am in pain, balms such as Mentholatum Deep Heat help. Balms that contain ingredients such as menthol…
Whenever I feel ill, I exhaust my options. To make my sickle cell pain go away, I drink hot water, take painkillers, fill my hot water bottle, find a distraction, or sleep. Most of the time it works, but sometimes the pain is so bad that I call 999…
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