Afoma
Age: 19

Hi guys! My name is Afoma, I’m 19 and I’m a Sickle Cell Warrior. 

So basically, living with sickle cell disease has not been easy; from the endless stays in the hospital, to the excruciating crisis (bone pains), to the numerous blood transfusions. Living with a chronic illness has affected me mentally and emotionally. 

Imagine taking drugs every single day of your life, it can be draining.

On how I’ve been managing my sickle cell disease and trying to make sure I don’t get sick;

1.  I take my routine drugs,

2. I make sure I drink at least 11 glasses of water a day, because fluids helps prevent crisis and you getting sick

3. I make sure I avoid stress

4. I try to eat healthy; (you are what you eat) 

So, the ups and downs of me having sickle cell is; like I said, the hospital stays, the stigma of living with sickle cell in Nigeria!!! 

There are so many times people have made fun of me, just because I always fell sick. Especially in high school and Primary school (elementary school). 

I remember a time in primary school when I missed school for about 2 weeks because I was ill, when I resumed school after the 2 weeks, my teacher actually called me a “SICKLER.” That is such a derogatory term and should never be used on a warrior!! 

So yeah, growing up with sickle cell was tough! 

On how sickle cell has affected my relationships (dating life) it has affected it tbh, in the past I used to be so shy to bring up my genotype, one time one of my ex partners asked for my genotype, I had to lie that I was AA, (haha) but thankfully, now I’m very open about my genotype and that doesn’t have to be a problem anymore.

Also how it has affected my past friendships, tbh some of the people I knew then, made fun of my yellow eyes, and called me “a sickler” so many times. This was one of the reasons my self esteem was so low as at then. Thank God for friends who actually know that I have sickle cell right now, and they’ve shown me nothing but love.