Good day ladies and gentlemen. Greatful to be part of this amazing community and also to share my own story in the "One cure" contest. I hope you find my entry interesting. Okay.....
Why Sickle Cell Anaemia???
During my secondary school days in one of our science club medical outreach we visited a hospital. That was where I met this little girl named Favour. She was receiving treatment. Later got to hear she's been on admission. I was immediately drawn to the kid, maybe it is because I am a child lover. She was 9 and a sickle cell patient. She had yellowish eyes and a tiny body, so tiny you could mistake her for a 6 year old. I tried to get close to her. So I greeted her parents. Tried to touch and talk to her but she didn't react. Instead she stared at me with so much pain in her eyes. She was groaning. She was in pain. It broke me. So I held her hand tightly and told her she will be alright. I couldn't say much. My heart's and eyes were heavy with tears. I turned to leave when I heard her say
"Mummy,I cant take it anymore. I want to die "
Everywhere froze. You could hear the sound of pin drop at that point. Nobody could utter a word. Only the sobs of the mother could be heard. I didn't know what to say. I could claim to know the pain she was going through but I have never suffered from sickle cell anaemia before. So honestly, I cannot claim to know the frustrations she was going through. Or even the pains that accompanied those words.
Somebody had to say something. I had to. So I said
" Superwoman you won't die. You won't die. You are going to be fine."
It was all I could gather myself to say. Tears almost falling off my eyes. I hugged her gently and left. Promising to come back later. She let out a small smile. It was a very sad moment.
The story of Favour is but one of the travails and pain people with sickle cell anaemia face.
There's also the story of celebrity and award winning musician Adekunle Gold. In his emotional story he talks about the struggles and pains of been a sickle cell patient. How it drained him physically, mentally and financially.
In his words " sickle cell took away my freedom, my childhood. I lost friends. A lot of them. Some didn't understand the restrictions and rules I had to live by, some just didn't want to deal with my illness or thought it was a nasty or contagious disease that they could catch "
"I was a burden for some. I begged God to take my life because I couldn't understand what I did to deserve the pain my mind and body was under."
These are just a few stories of what people with this illness suffer. Searched online and I found out that sickle cell is an inherited disorder that affects the shape of the red blood cells which carry oxygen to parts of the body.
While there are no known cute for most people with sickle cell anaemia, treatments can help relieve pain and prevent complications.
I hope scientists come up with the cure though. No human deserves to go through the pain and torture that is sickle cell anaemia. I sincerely hope I have the powers to find a cure. Sadly I can't, and it's why I asking intending couples to know their genotype and also the genotype of their spouses.
Marry right! Nobody deserves to go though so much pain and agony. Nobody deserves to be a "Favour" in this world .
