Dunstan Nicol-Wilson is a clinical project manager from South East London, United Kingdom. Dunstan has his master’s in public health with a global health focus. Dunstan was diagnosed with the “invisible disorder” sickle cell disease from birth in 1993. He hopes that his column will raise awareness for this disease, encourage others to share their stories, and showcase all the ups and downs of living with a rare condition. Dunstan loves anime, cooking, and Manchester United.
I took a break recently and rewatched some of my favorite anime and cartoons. There’s a popular idea in these types of media called a “canon event,” which is like a “what if” concept. The idea is that…
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For a long time, I’ve been against the notion of being called a sickle cell warrior. I didn’t feel I deserved the title. A warrior, to me, is a skilled combatant who’s spent years developing a craft, like…
The past few months have brought me a stretch of good health. Because the cold can trigger a sickle cell crisis for me, I tend to have fewer issues during the summer. I’ve also been taking…
The pain from a sickle cell crisis is difficult to describe. To explain, I’d compare it to getting your hand repeatedly slammed in a car door, with that pain searing every second throughout the event. Suffering through one…
As a teenager with sickle cell disease, I thought that one of my biggest challenges in life would be disease management. I worried about what my life would look like, how many medications I would have to…
Over the past month, I’ve had caregivers, friends, and siblings of patients with sickle cell disease reach out to me with questions about how to better support their loved one. Each scenario I’ve read has reminded me how…
Hello, June! This month is very significant in my life, with various celebrations and anniversaries. For one, I’ve spent two years writing almost weekly about my sickle cell disease journey on Sickle Cell Disease News! I was…
While I realize it’s impossible to plan for every eventuality, I often think about what I could’ve done better or differently to prevent a sickle cell pain crisis. Like the random bumps in life’s journey, a crisis can…
For the past few days, I’ve been thinking about learned behavior. For example, why do I speak the way I do? Why do I respond to specific cues the way I do? Upon reflection, much of it stems from…
Smile, be polite, be eloquent, and watch your tone to ensure others feel comfortable. These are my thoughts during daily interactions. Unfortunately, because of the negative preconceptions about Black men, my day-to-day is centered around putting others at…
Reserved, calm, and quiet are adjectives that have been used to describe me at some point, and I’d say they’re pretty accurate. I usually step out of my shell only when I’m around people I’m comfortable with or in…
An eight-hour flight, a three-hour boat ride, a six-hour bus ride, and then a two-hour hike up a mountain: This is the journey I would take if I decide to visit extended family in one of the more remote…
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