Sickle Sagas
— Dunstan Nicol-Wilson

I celebrated my birthday last month, and I’m grateful to be 31 and see another year. I feel blessed — even though, in recent months, I’ve experienced loss within our sickle cell community. Each loss reminds me that nothing is guaranteed in life. Nonetheless, I’m blessed to have…

One thing I enjoy doing in my life is mentoring young people with sickle cell disease. I decided to become a mentor a few years ago in order to share my experiences and help others avoid the same mistakes I made while managing the disease. Interacting with each…

During a recent weekend, I was hanging out with my friends and catching up on life. One of my long-term guy friends mentioned he had become a blood donor and had been giving blood for several months. However, he couldn’t donate at his last session because of low…

While sickle cell falls under the umbrella of rare disease, it doesn’t feel so rare among my circle of acquaintances. In my community, somebody always knows someone else with sickle cell disease and has a vague understanding of what it is. In the broader community, however, much less is…

It’s the season for new beginnings and expanding on our past successes. I’m grateful to see another year; it’s a blessing and a privilege. In remembrance of those who didn’t make it into the new year, it’s essential to appreciate what they gave us and how they spent their…

Mentoring young people with sickle cell disease has been an enriching endeavor. I’ve learned and shared a lot about how the disease affects people differently. As a result of these differences, I must figure out how to best support each mentee. I recently had a conversation with…

I’m constantly going through physical, spiritual, and mental growth. Removing or changing learned behavior and patterns, for example, has allowed me to become a better version of myself. However, I’ve been walking with limits on my body for years because of sickle cell disease, which subconsciously has led…

I have been on a journey since 2018 to share my experiences with sickle cell disease and help others avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made along the way. This journey has exposed me to many different concepts that I reevaluate regularly. For instance, I’ve written previously about…

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 a canon event must happen for a person to become who…

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 Vikings who inspired my first column. Being a warrior,…

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 my vitamins and supplements, eating a healthy diet, doing what’s…

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 of those episodes is physically, emotionally, and mentally challenging. But to…