What I have tried to do by writing about Sickle cell is to encourage, inspire and give pointers to people with loved ones who have the disease. I hope you enjoy reading this personal experience of a septuagenarian.
“To start with, I grew up experiencing serious pain in my left leg and arm before my teenage years. And while I was in nursery/primary schools in the 50s/early 60s, I was unable to move my limbs. All my mother could do was to bathe me with hot water and rub my body with mentholated balm and shea butter mixed with some local herbs.
“Fortunately, I attended the foremost secondary school in the old Western region, Government College, Ibadan, from 1964-68, where I was well taken care of when I had crisis even though the medical world, especially in Africa, had not identified it as Sickle cell anaemia then. It was seen as a black man’s disease and less research was being done into the excruciating pain in the limb bones.
“I had an industrial accident in London in 1972, when I was doing a menial job. I lost my pinky (little right hand finger) while waiting to start my A levels again there. I was rushed to Charing Cross Hospital (a teaching hospital) where through blood test they discovered I had an unusual blood type – SC. I became a local hospital black boy celebrity with medical students and nurses conducting experiments on me.
Growing up over time, I got to understand the dos and don’ts of someone with sickle cell. Throughout my sojourn of seven years in UK, I only experienced crisis once and it was my first summer after being caught in the rain. I took painkillers, massaged my legs, hand and chest with mentholated balm as I used to do back in Nigeria and three to four days later, the pain would leave my body.
“I was too patriotic to stay so I returned to Nigeria in 1977, to participate in the National Youth Service Corps programme. I was posted to Sokoto and one of my college classmates – a medical doctor – had already been serving there. The condition was that I must not be posted out of the state capital because of the SC. I had shown them my blood test result that I brought from London. The NYSC official then informed me that he would not post me to Sokoto as I had wished because the NYSC, according to its standing regulations, allows me to serve in my state of origin on health grounds.
“I studied politics in the country that birthed modern democratic norms and observed these like a social scientist when I got back home.
“Regarding the dos and don’ts, I always take my bath with hot water, following my mother’s example till date. My bathroom has a socket in it. I also use a strong Nigerian mentholated balm and the likes in the mornings and at bedtimes. Heavy exercises are out of the question because people with SC don’t have enough storage of oxygen to stabilise the metabolism. I take life easy and eat right and drink plenty of water. I try as much as I can to avoid getting caught in the rain and if unavoidable; I change my clothing immediately and apply mentholated balm on my body. I drink plenty of hot beverages. I avoid swimming and this is talking from experience. I make sure I cover myself with warm clothing when the weather is cold. Most importantly, one should avoid very stressful situations whether at work or play.
“I am glad you have always talked about care Tola Dehinde and not cure because there is none at the moment that I know of. Management is key; over the years, I have fallen into crises at least a couple of times a year, especially after strenuous exertion and my body being exposed to cold weather or wind.
“Regarding my work, having SC did not adversely affect my work because I was fully unaware of my health status early and so managed it through my adult life until my limbs became weak while growing old. Luckily by then, I was in my 60s, retired and not too tired as I used to be. I worked for almost 20 years, as a senior banker at Stanbic IBTC, joining after working at the NYSC headquarters and in other states for almost 12 years.
“The ultimate issue of having SC started showing from my late 50s, when I started finding it difficult to climb staircases. By my 60th birthday, just over ten years ago, I started using walking sticks to aid myself to walk slowly and steadily. I was told that rheumatoid arthritis and inflammation had set in, plus cramps. I graduated into using a walker like my grand-daughters who were still toddlers. To ease my movement and lessen sedentary lifestyle, my college classmates from GCI, most of who were medical doctors, donated a motorised wheelchair to me on my 70th birthday last year December.
“I love to live a simple life based on my Christian ethics of giving thanks and fearing God every time. All in all, God has been good and kind to me and I will continue to give thanks to Him until He calls me up. That is my journey so far with sickle cell.”
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