On this faithful day, I went for my wound dressing all dressed up with my makeup and lipstick looking on fleek.I was so happy because I was going with the intention of getting there and hearing Bimpe your wound has healed there's nothing to dress you can go home and I was prepared to start singing and dancing with my one and a half leg😂😂😂😂 (I don't have one and a half leg o, I was made whole and perfect by my Father and so i am) but that wasn't ‘the’ case, the previous dressing was opened only to seeanother pop out that was going to break out again. And the usual opening up with blade and pressing to bring out the pus and poking to make sure the ‘wound is as clean as it should be’ all this with no analgesic. I came back home crying because that wasn't my expectations.
At that point i was in so much pain and at the hospital only for me to receive a DM via Instagram from someone who's name I cannot mention for so many reasons the text said and I quote. “Hi Miss, I hope it isn't too late to do this? I have been watching you closely and I know you are committed to the SCAF Crusade.( SCAF is Sickle Cell Aid Foundation. And i am a member. To know more about the foundation kindle drop a comment and I'll get back to you) I need to talk to you though. I need you to help talk to a cousin whose child is HBSS And I am afraid he's thinking of something desperate. Please leave your phone number here. I will holla. Cheers”
I received this text 4:30am Tuesday morning I was currently in pain and exhausted and I wasn't
emotionally prepared to talk to someone like this but I replied giving him my phone number to send me a WhatsApp message. I was too exhausted to be angry. I woke up to a call from the person who sent me the message, I was calm already by this time so I asked him to give his cousin my number and he should call me even though deep inside me I knew that I had no clue of what to say or do to him but I knew I couldn't use harsh words on him because he was in a bad place already doing that would only hurt him more and then he probably would have hurt the child, so I prayed that God should put the right words in my mouth and after talking to him I could understand him and immediately I knew how he felt and I could relate because it was the same feeling I felt when I saw a 2 year old HBSS patient in pains and she wasn't even related to me so I could imagine how it felt watching his 1 year and only 6 months old son suffer a crisis pain. Anyone would want it to end we are all humans and it's hard for us to watch those we love suffer. I was able to talk him out of taking a drastic decision and enlighten him on managing a child with sickle cell anemia and he listened.
We became more like friends. I made sure I checked up on him to see how he was doing and also how the son was doing because it wasn’t about the boy alone but him too. He must be in the right state of mind to manage the child.
Talking to him more made me realize how much work needs to be done on the awareness of sickle cell anemia because he had no clue on how to manage a child with the SS genotype. Knowing your genotype is one but knowing your correct genotype is another. Yes, your correct genotype. This man is a victim of a wrong genotype result. He isn't the first to be a victim and I know so because I have seen many others who are victims of wrong genotype result. For example, a mutual friend who needed to do some medical tests including genotype test for an application was also given a wrong genotype result. She knew her genotype to be AS only for her to get her results and genotype result turned out to be SS and she was scared and confused and it was totally understandable because she has always known her genotype to be AS and now she got a new result saying her genotype was SS and she started to think about all the times she felt weak or sick and felt that was her true genotype she became a shadow of her former self until a new genotype test was done. Lo and behold the result turned out to be AS. She suffered traumatically until the new result said she was really AS.
Mistakes such as this has ruined many homes, marriages and even caused severe emotional trauma for several people.
Genotype testing is important and should be done multiple times in a reputable laboratory.
PLEASE AND PLEASE KNOW YOUR TRUE GENOTYPE BEFORE MAKING LIFE
COMMITMENTS. So, others do not have to suffer. #knowyourtruegenotype #breakthesicklecycle
#saynotowronggenotyperesults.
Yours truly,
Bimpe Shenbo.
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