Although approximately 1 in 6 people worldwide are living with a significant disability, the narrative that those of us with disabilities deserve less continues to be perpetuated. As a sickle cell disease patient, I know that stigma…
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In recent columns, I have written about why knowing your genotype is imperative when planning a family, as well as the steps to take to avoid having children with sickle cell disease. But for some, these simply…
Living with sickle cell disease is no easy feat. At 32, I still struggle to understand my body and live as freely as I’d like. Because it’s within our power to prevent children from experiencing this horrible, debilitating…
If you haven’t already, I would recommend you get your genotype tested. Sickle cell is an inherited disease. This means if both parents carry a sickle gene, there is a chance the baby can have sickle cell disease.
Last weekend, I had plans to go to brunch with a group of friends I hadn’t seen in a while. We planned it quite a few weeks in advance, and I was really looking forward to being out socially…
In my last column, I wrote about finally being discharged after a lengthy hospitalization. Once I got home, I rested for about a week and then decided to return to work. Maintaining a successful, full-time career…
In my last column, I shared that I was in the hospital due to a sickle cell crisis. I have finally been discharged, thank God. I contracted an infection at the beginning of February that resulted in…
It’s been several weeks since my last column, because I was unfortunately hospitalized at the beginning of February. I was hoping to have been discharged by now, but sadly I’m still here. Last month, I contracted an infection that…
I spent much of the fall of 2019 in the hospital due to a sickle cell crisis. It became so severe that it affected my organ function and triggered a severe case of avascular necrosis. I…
Happy New Year! It’s 2022, and my New Year’s resolution is the same as always: to experience and maintain good health. I’m not completely naive. I’m acutely aware of how sickle cell disease works, and I know I can’t…
I have been experiencing a lot of pain lately due to sickle cell crises. I previously wrote that my crises have started to correlate with my menstrual cycle, but I’m now experiencing them daily. Admittedly, I’m not…
Winter has finally arrived here in the U.K. I really dislike the winter, in case you didn’t know. One of my biggest sickle cell disease crisis triggers is cold weather. Although sickle cell patients have different pain…
Last Monday, I awoke to a flurry of comments about the results of a landmark sickle cell inquiry here in the U.K. that uncovered evidence of racism in sickle cell patient care in the the public healthcare system.
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