Life of a sickle cell warrior

LIVING WITH THE SICKLE CELL

You know that feeling when you get in the pool and let yourself sink to the bottom? That calm that engulfs you as you feel yourself growing heavier and going deeper. That serenity, is it worth the pain?
A few years ago on a Wednesday, I took my usual route to the pool. It had been a long day and the thoughts of the pool was all that kept me going. The first drop into the water is always a new feeling, it never gets old. I did my usual laps around and had my moments of sinking to the bottom and straining my lungs. I exceeded my daily 1 hour routine and 2 hours later, it was dark and I could feel myself shiver but I was not ready to come back up yet. An argument later, I reasoned with myself and decided I had had enough for the day. I felt lighter, healthier and ready to face the next day…or so I thought.
I woke up at midnight to an unwelcomed but familiar ache in my left leg. I swallowed 2 tablets of Diclofenac and slept with a dread in my tummy. I was right to feel that dread. I woke up some hours later rolling around in terrible pains all concentrated in my left leg. The leg was practically throbbing with unexplainable pain. I laid in bed staring at my watch and gritting my teeth while I did my mantra, “On a scale of 1-10, it is a 6. On a scale of 1-10, it is a 7”.
My sister, a then Medical student, had thought me this chant. She would ask me to rate the pain as honestly as I could on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the extreme. According to her, this would help monitor the pain and distract my brain a bit. It works, I think. At the hospital, I would often address my discomfort using this scale and every doctor I have met has appreciated it. My little Pool rendezvous earned me over 3 weeks on admission in the hospital.
Have I been back to swimming since then you’d ask. The answer is yes. Yes, I have been to the pool many a times after that incident. You see, the Doctors did ask me to reduce the hours spent in the water and give consideration to extreme temperatures. However, what they did not tell me was to stop being spontaneous or adventurous. I do only have a period till my next crisis but I will not spend that period in caution and in fear.
Where others push their limits, I push along with them with a different limit of mental and physical condition. I have learnt to read the signals my body sends when it wants to take a break. I have learnt to appreciate the subtle dull ache in my limbs that tells me to take a load off. I have come to appreciate the various paces at which I take my life, most times on the slow lane but it makes me appreciate the few times I hit the fast lane. I am living with the sickle cell but we have learnt to co-exist like a married couple. We are each other’s weaknesses and strengths.

Written by ,
 Adetoto Tokunbo.

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