This was during my constant hospital admissions. I was no longer able to work or study which I’ve mentioned deeply affected me.

I felt too young to be disabled I didn’t want to be called it, I rejected that title, I guess in some ways my body accepted that title, my body deserved that title at the time. I just did not want to accept it because I felt embarrassed about it.

For a long time I’ve felt trapped by my body held back, held down, held hostage. My body was my plague not my protection it destroyed me, it destroyed itself.

Dealing with a physical condition is challenging to say the least. It made me have to use my mind because that was all I had that was the only part of me that was somewhat free, it was the only escape I had, I had to try and switch my mind off of my pain and bring my focus onto something else, which is extremely difficult and isn’t always achievable.

Learning to do my makeup was a huge distraction for me and the more I done it the more I grew a passion for it, I’ve never wanted to be a makeup artist though I just wanted to be able to do my own makeup.

Now when I’m in pain if it’s bearable I will do my makeup as it distracts me and cheers me up. I am in pain daily and I mean daily I’m not saying that figuratively I mean that literally, whether it’s sicklecell pain or fibromyalgia pain it’s daily, so having something that distracts me and brings me joy is so necessary, it’s apart of self care doing something just for you because it makes you happy and isn’t hurting anyone else and we need more of that.

My #sicklecellfamily I continue to pray for your health, happiness, hope and strength Alhumdulilah

The post Aliyah Gladying – Real Lives Blog appeared first on Sickle Cell Society.

Anusjka was diagnosed with sickle cell disorder at just a few months old. Living in Trinidad, Anusjka had a life full of pain and lots of hospital visits. Unable to take part in swimming and sports – like much of her friends and family – her life was very limited.

At the age for 20, Anusjka moved to the UK where she studied to be a nurse before having her first child in 2006. The pregnancy brought on a crisis, which resulted in her first child being born prematurely and both nearly dying.

The pain of sickle cell and effect of the disorder impacted her hips, which meant she was unable to stand for long periods. As a result, she had to stop her career in nursing.

As a sickle cell campaigner raising awareness of health inequalities, Anusjka was proactive in learning about new treatments. She discovered that stem cell treatment was being used to treat a range of conditions, but not yet sickle cell disorder.  Anusjka contacted the BBC who featured the use of stem cell treatment in different conditions but not sickle cell – and because of her campaigning the NHS approved stem cell treatment for sickle cell disorder.

In April 2022 Anusjka was one of the first people with sickle cell disorder to have a stem cell transplant. Her sister, who was a suitable donor, flew to the UK from Trinidad to give Anusjka her stem cells. The treatment meant that Anusjka was in hospital for 7 weeks in complete isolation. It will take Anusjka a year to recover. Speaking to her 4 months into the transplant she is sickle cell free and is ‘feeling amazing.”

Anusjka says; “I am no longer worried about my future. I have no pain and I will be able to return to career I loved without any fear of having to take time off due to sickle cell disorder.”

“Greater awareness is needed to others who suffer from sickle cell disorder can get the correct treatment. There are many different treatments available, and people no longer have to live in pain and suffering.”

The post An Interview with Anusjka Regis appeared first on Sickle Cell Society.

A Give Blood Spread Love blog

My name is Laurel Brumant- Palmer I am 58 years old, I was diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease SS at the age of 3 years old. I am a Sickle Cell survivor.

Living with sickle cell disease has been tough; it has been a constant struggle both mentally and physically. Growing up as a child was difficult because that was the period of time that I experienced my worse crisis ever.

I missed so much schooling and felt so different although I had the most amazing parents and siblings that anyone could ask for. My siblings took so much time out looking after me rubbing my joints to try and ease the pain during a crisis. They also made me feel special while at the same treating me no different from one another. My parents wrapped me in cotton wool, as they were lost dealing with a chronic illness they knew little about.

I had very little confidence in myself and I just did not think that there was any future for me. In fact, I really did not want to continue living if this was going to be my life.

The Sickle cell Society became a great support to myself and my family introducing us to other sufferers and their families. My sister worked for the Society for a short period of time, something that is very faint in the back of my beaten memory.

It seemed that anything I did or tried to do was always controlled by a crisis appearing at the wrong time. I could not get excited about anything and if I did you can be sure that a crisis was always around the corner waiting to attack. I have experienced several bouts of pneumonia, many episodes of acute chest syndrome, and my spleen and Gall Bladder have both been removed.

I was diagnosed with Avascular necrosis of the left hip at the age of 21 and Papillary Necrosis of the kidneys. My body has basically been battered by sickle cell disease.

I had several transfusions prior to starting the Exchange Transfusion program. I now believe that I have learnt to accept and live with sickle cell although I still really struggle on a day-to-day basis. I am now a mother, daughter, wife, grandmother, colleague and friend too many but most important I am a survivor and advocate.

I started having exchange transfusions when I was around 16- 18 years old prior to that I was on regular transfusions. This resulted in having a Porta Cath fitted in my chest causing me to experience several severe infections in the line. Having to use a twenty-four-hour pump that consisted of a small butterfly which I had to insert into my tummy was not easy. I had to do the 3-4 nights a week to remove the excess iron that was building up in my body over time. This was known as iron Chelation.

I had two successful pregnancies which both went well, exchange transfusions kept me well through both. I was employed part time for the first time in my life and was transfused during my employment. Got married…went back to study subjects that I believed I could have done better at had I not been continuously hospitalized.

I final completed a degree while working part time at the age of 52. This was something I had always dreamt of achieving. I graduated in 2016 with a 1^st Class Honors in Graphic Design, Visual communication and Illustration.

TODAY I MUST SAY WHO COULD IT BE BUT JESUS and all those many blood donors who donated their blood and saved my life

I express a huge part of myself through my art, which often includes art that portraits pain and sickle cell or reflections of my past journey. I use art to tell my story, to raise awareness and to also help me to stay in touch with my inner self. It is something that I would love to do every day for the rest of my life. You can see my work on Instagram @Laurelbrumant and you can also follow my blog on the Sickle Cell Society Website I also produce regular work.

Creativity was something that I was blessed with and I use it as a form of therapy. My faith in God and my art helps me to escape into a place of peace. This enables me to deal with life’s challenges in a positive way.

The increased demand for some rare subtypes, such as Ro, that are more common in people of Black heritage means we need more black people to become blood donors. Demand for these subtypes is growing as more people have regular transfusions to treat blood disorders such as sickle cell.

Subtypes are important when someone has regular transfusions, as they need blood that matches their own as closely as possible. We need people from all communities to give blood to make sure there’s the right blood available for everyone.

If I have to be honest when I started receiving blood I knew nothing about ethnically matched blood all I knew was that I had to have a blood test several days before I received blood. I knew my blood was being cross-matched so that I received blood from a person with the same blood group as myself. Yes, my lack of knowledge was poor and I don’t ever remember anyone explaining to me the true need of blood donors of black heritage. I needed the blood it was helping me lead a life with less crisis than I was experiencing before.

However, after several years of being on the exchange transfusion I started to have reactions to the blood in the form of high temperature, high blood pressure and coming out in rashes and sometimes just generally feeling awful and unwell. I had to always be administered antihistamine either before or during my blood transfusions to control the reactions I had.

When or if you decide to become a blood donor do not just do it because you want to donate specifically to someone with Sickle Cell donate because you are helping to save a life. Yes, it could possibly go to someone with sickle cell if they have a rare subtype blood group like Ro or it could also go to someone who like me who has an O Positive blood group or it could go to someone who is of black heritage. But even if it does not just remember the good you are doing because by donating blood you are saving lives.

Without blood donations from all communities we would not be able to ensure that there’s the right blood for everyone. I understand that not everyone meets the criteria for giving blood but have you actually thought of giving blood, or even found out what it entails?

Stop making excuses… stop finding reasons why you are not able to do something amazing.

Please ask yourself these questions …Could I give blood? …What is stopping me? … Could I save lives?

Ask yourself seriously …WHAT IS STOPPING ME?

Find out more about Laurel and here artwork here: @Laurelbrumant

Find out more about giving blood here: www.sicklecellsociety.org/blooddonation/

The post Exchange Transfusions Changed My Life appeared first on Sickle Cell Society.

A month later the girls were celebrating their Christening Day.

My mother has had a rough year with her health and Covid and shielding hasn’t helped. We have lost loved ones and have also seen loved ones fight some battles and recover.

To be honest I really am not surprised that I started suffering from severe fatigue and just not feeling myself.

Forgetfulness, vertigo, very little or no energy, no motivation to really do anything and a bloated uncomfortable tummy.

My kidney stones were playing havoc in the background and I had just received my 5^th cancellation with the Urology team who look after me and my troublesome kidney stones.

GP appointments had ended with testing for Diabetes, Thyroid, Liver and a stomach scan to check on my troublesome kidney stones.

I felt like I was constantly complaining but it seemed like nobody was really listening or taking me seriously. I knew something was not right and I felt that something had to give.

Sunday 7^th November 2021, I woke up to a discomfort on my left side just under my left breast. I put it down to my kidney stones as I usually did when I have pain in that area.

Then it happened, the pain travelled across my chest, down my back, down my arms and down my legs and slowly up my head taking away my senses.

A diagram of a sickle cell crisis (Photo by Darryl Leja, NHGRI)

I was experiencing my first major Crisis in ten years and it was all over my body. I think that frightened me more than the severity of the pain because it hit my entire body immediately.

I could hear me having a conversation with myself, “I am not going to the hospital…no matter how bad it gets, I am not going to the hospital”.

That little voice also kept saying ‘drink lots of water, take some strong pain killers, get on top of the pain so it doesn’t take over’.

But deep inside I knew it had already taken over, this crisis had a pain score of 10. I remember seeing my husband’s face drop with sadness as he asked me the pain score and I answered 10.

I switched off from everything and began to fill myself with lots of fluids and painkillers, kept myself wrapped in bed, emptied my mind of everything and listened to online Sunday services and worship songs.

I didn’t want to allow myself to have any negative thoughts or any form of negativity around me… I had to fight this… please God help me to fight this.

Today is Monday 8^th November, I still feel awful, my arms and legs are still being attacked with pain my chest feels a little better my head feels like it is not my head.

But I‘ve managed to type this, an account of my crisis as I go through it.

I am so grateful that my crisis has calmed down today so that I am able to type this up before I try to again sleep the pain away.

As I type I can almost feel the sickle cells within my leg clumping together telling me it is now time to stop.

Laurel

You can find Laurel on Instagram @laurelbrumant

This blog is part of the Real Lives blog series, sharing the real stories of people living with sickle cell. Read more here: www.sicklecellsociety.org/category/real-lives-blog/

The post First Major Crisis After Ten Years appeared first on Sickle Cell Society.

So imagine you have a huge house and there are loads of rooms with a light bulb in each. So the house represents you and those light bulbs represent your happiness, your laughter, your strength, your enjoyment, your determination, your drive, your hope and your spirit etc. As each day goes on those lightbulbs begin to flicker and start to dim until they completely shut off and now you’re in complete darkness.

You’re frustrated, angry and hopeless. This is probably one of the only ways I can create an image of what sickle cell does but not only sickle cell, a crisis. Sickle cell continuously takes from you and every time you go into crisis this is what happens and you almost have to rebuild and adjust and regain everything that crisis took from you and for some this is on a consistent basis it’s not like you get 1 or 2 crises a year for most of us it can be 7,8,9.

Trying to put the effects of sickle cell into words can be very hard but I have to find them. I have to write them, I must create awareness in anyway I can, because it’s always so quiet when sickle cell is uproarious!

Our voices need to be heard!

Aliya

(Find more from Aliya on Instagram: @stylemealiya)

The post Our Voices Need to be Heard appeared first on Sickle Cell Society.

The above is the title of my book that was published in May 2021. I have been blogging and writing about sickle cell for over 6 years. My name is Tola Dehinde. I was diagnosed as having sickle cell as a baby (months old), at Great Ormond Street Hospital. I therefore grew up knowing that I would be the one to fall ill, amongst my siblings, there were four of us in total.  For that reason, I grew up knowing that I was ‘delicate’ as a child, as my mother would say.

I came back to London in my early twenties and that was when I really understood what sickle cell was all about. My immediate family were all living out of England. So, I had to be more independent fast. Throughout my life and right till when I came back to London, I was never admitted to hospital. My mother was a nurse and so she always looked after me at home.

In the last 80s, I started work at the BBC in London. It was tough being the only young, black woman who had sickle cell working in an office in White City. Despite it being hard, I worked at the BBC for twenty three years. During my time at the BBC, I studied and got various qualifications, I got a French degree, I got a post-graduate certificate, I got a diploma in life-coaching and I also studied relationship counselling. I have over the years done so many other courses.

Living with sickle cell is challenging because of the unpredictable nature of the disease. It is so difficult to make concrete plans because if one falls ill, and there are other people in the plan, it would seem as if one is letting other people down.

Post BBC, I started blogging on various aspects of my life. I love writing and decided to start three blogs at a go. The first blog was about sickle cell and my life on: www.howtolivewithsicklecell.co.uk. A year after I started blogging, a door opened for me to write a column on a weekly basis on sickle cell matters for the most widely read newspaper in Nigeria called Punch. Incidentally, Nigeria has the highest birth prevalence of sickle cell disease in the world. Suffice to say, I was very happy to put issues about sickle cell on the global map. It has been an amazing experience so far as I get so many emails from readers, all over the world regarding issues about sickle cell.

My other two blogs are: www.pastors1stlady.co.uk and www.howtofinda2ndcareerinyour40sandbeyond.co.uk. Over the years, friends and family members would tell me to turn my articles into books. I would nod and not do anything about it. But last year, when the pandemic started, and I as well as thousands of other people were told to shield, I decided to do some writing courses. I wanted to stay active and did one course after another, in order to really know what I needed to know about writing.

At the end of the three different writing courses that I did, I felt ready to write. However, I still wasn’t confident enough in myself to write a book. I therefore started by writing a Christian book called ‘Prayer Personified’ and after, still unsure, I wrote another Christian book titled ‘Godly Declarations’. After these books, I knew I had nowhere to hide but to write my book on sickle cell.

HOW TO LIVE WITH SICKE CELL: Sickle Cell and I (now available on Amazon)

I collated all that I had written both in my blog articles and in the column, in order to decide which materials to use. After months of writing, editing and checking through, I was finally ready at the beginning of this year send off my manuscript to the publisher.

Now that I have three self-published books under my belt, I am writing my fourth book. I am currently trying to get my book on sickle cell in the library system in UK. However, if you would like to buy a copy of any of my books, they are available on Amazon in paperback and in kindle format.

I look back at the fact that under a year, I have been able to write, edit and publish three books. Spending a lot of time alone and sick, reading has been a route of escape and also a solace for me and now that I have the writing bug, thanks to laptops that you write what you speak, I am on a roll.

A friend has kindly offered to bless the first three persons who email me (t.dehinde@yahoo.com) with a free copy (UK only).

Tola Dehinde

The post How to Live with Sickle Cell: Sickle Cell and I appeared first on Sickle Cell Society.

This must be one of the most difficult pieces I have had to write in a long time.

I am fifty-seven years old and have come so very far from that skinny sickly-looking child who grew up experiencing a life of constant horrific pain.

When I was a child I felt that health professionals especially the nursing staff were amazing. They knew exactly what I needed and how to take care of me, they made me feel safe and comfortable. Little did I realise that this would change as I approached teenage hood.

First and foremost, before anything else if a patient is in a crisis please do not allow them to wait, beg or convince you that they need pain relieve. It is so important that pain is taking seriously because it is the worse pain ever. A patient screams out because the scream is the only way of expressing the agony, distress and torture that a crisis causes.

Some patients may not know how to express themselves when they are in need, frustration and anger can sometimes take control when they themselves have no control of this attack on their body. Remember we are all individuals we are all different and sometimes a patients anger and frustration are seen as rudeness and a lack of respect.

We need to understand that a patient who comes from a loving family, has amazing close friends who supports and understands them 100%, cannot be compared to a patient that has no one or little support.

We need to learn to listen… I mean really listen… not listen and dismiss or listen but not hear but listen to the patient.

I wonder if some health professionals/nurses feel inadequate or undermined because a patient is telling them what they need or what doesn’t work for them because they have the knowledge due to their experiences.

Please understand that we know our bodies so well, we were born with this chronic illness and are living with this chronic illness. We know the procedure, we know what our bodies can handle, what our bodies like, dislike and what our bodies need.

Please learn to listen, to hear what a patient is saying and to at least act on it in a positive manner before dismissing that patient.

As I grew up as a teenager with sickle cell anemia I found it difficult to speak up, I lacked confidence and didn’t think I would be heard or listened to. I didn’t really understand my body or my illness I felt that I was definitely not in control.

As I entered my 20’s and 30’s and I started regular exchange transfusions, I started to take more and more notice of my treatment the things that worked for me and the things that didn’t. I often had to speak up but I was never rude when I wasn’t heard.

I have shed tears because I haven’t been listened to and endured pain and trauma that was unnecessary. This has recently happened to me in my fifty’s which was a total shock.

“Please sedate me when you put that femoral line in my groin” my sentence was ignored by an anesthetist even after explaining my history. In October 2019 while undergoing an exchange transfusion the week before my hip replacement surgery a femoral line had to be inserted in my groin.

This was the only way I could receive my exchange transfusion as 30+ years of blood exchanges had ruined my veins. I could see that he did not like being told and felt he knew better, I could feel his body language saying ‘I know what I am doing, I don’t need to be told it will be fine.’

The pain that I felt from that needle trying to penetrate through hard scar tissue became evident by those screams echoing throughout the hospital theatre and corridors.

I was quickly sedated before receiving an apology and a look of regret from a flustered anesthetist. He should have listened, I wasn’t telling him how to do his job I was just letting him know what my body needed because of my knowledge through my past experiences.

Thank God this did not cause serious damaged, however it caused me to go through a procedure that was so distressing and could have easily been avoided if I was only listened to.

Remember I am fifty-seven years old so I wasn’t looked at as a child, a teenager or someone in their 20’s who maybe didn’t know what they were talking about or may have been exaggerating. Yet I was still ignored. We as Sickle Cell Sufferers need to stop being ignored no matter what age we are we need to be listened to and need to be taken seriously.

Educating everyone about Sickle Cell Anemia and the affect it can have on a person should be compulsory for all Health professionals, teachers, nursery staff etc., as well as The Metropolitan Police. Sickle Cell Anemia, its basic treatment and how it can affect the sufferer both physically and mentally should be part of all professional training that allow the individual dealing directly with people.

What is the point of educating health professionals who lack empathy or do not have the ability to listen. This has to be a major part of educating our medical staff and nurses. WE NEED TO LEARN TO LISTEN TO THE PATIENT AS WELL AS THE CARERS.

Perhaps this is the time that we the patients need to get involved in helping to give talks within all training and educational establishments so that experiences are listened to first hand from the patient.

Laurel

You can find Laurel on Instagram @laurelbrumant

This blog is part of the Real Lives blog series, sharing the real stories of people living with sickle cell. Read more here: www.sicklecellsociety.org/category/real-lives-blog/

This blog is also a part of our World Sickle Cell Day content. Find out more here: www.sicklecellsociety.org/wscd/

The post Time to Listen – Time to be Heard appeared first on Sickle Cell Society.

When I would go into A&E, nurses would constantly watch me to see if I really was in crisis. If I went to the toilet, if I went on my phone, even if I sat up they would say “you must be feeling better”. It wasn’t what they said it was how they said it, the tone, facial expressions and body language to go with it. 55% of communication is non-verbal and it was easy to read in between the lines.

During hospital appointments it almost feels like they’re quizzing you. It’s really weird and hard to describe but it certainly doesn’t feel good, it feels like my words aren’t good enough or valued enough for you to believe what I’m saying. It can become really frustrating because you constantly feel under attack and not trusted.

I have never lied or exaggerated about my pain, my crisis or experiences, I have no reason to. When I experience these characteristics from doctors and nurses I begin to loose faith and trust in them and my guard goes up straight away because I feel like what’s the point of explaining myself, you’re not going to listen or believe me. They may listen but they don’t hear you so you get nowhere.

I’m not quite sure where this theory came from that sickle cell patients are lazy lying drug addicts but it’s so untrue and so damaging to us as it undermines what we go through and hugely effects our care and treatment.

My sickle cell experiences have made realise that it doesn’t matter what you do or say there are some doctors and nurses out there who have already made their mind made up about me and although it’s frustrating because I hate my character being questioned there isn’t much I can do to change it.

I just pray that my young #sicklecellfamily don’t have to go through this and things change. I continue to pray for your health happiness hope and strength Alhumdulilah

Aliya

(Find more from Aliya on Instagram: @stylemealiya)

The post “You Must Be Feeling Better” appeared first on Sickle Cell Society.

A Real Lives Blog by Laurel

This week has been a sad, shocking and devastating week, I weep as I read stories of loss, inadequacies, lack of training and stories of events that should not be still occurring today.

I have made it one of my missions in life to advocate for sickle cell disease, to raise awareness and to let people hear my story, especially because I was born in 1963 when very little was know about this chronic blood disorder.

I thought we were getting somewhere, I thought things were getting better and I appreciate that we have come so far from where it all began but this is the last straw.

Look at what is still occurring today, why are these things still being allowed to happen, I am in total shock and feel as if I have lost two brothers even though I did not know them. I may have not been related to them by mother and father but genetically we had a bond that all sickle cell sufferers have.

I weep as I write this piece because I know what it feels like to know what you need, ask for it but not receive it: or to be questioned over it. I weep because having to beg for more pain killers and being told “it’s not time for your next dose, stop screaming, your making too much noise, your disturbing the other patients” – echos in my awful memories of time gone by.

I weep because everybody should know that a patient in a crisis needs oxygen, hydration and pain medication.

Evan Smith I am so sorry that you had to go through what you went through and were not heard, I weep because you lost your precious life because of ignorance and lack of education in 2019 and I feel ashamed for the people that caused this.

I feel ashamed for the nursing staff who have to live with this for the rest of their life and I feel ashamed for the Hospital in London that now want to put a specialist ward in place and educate their staff so that this doesn’t happen again.

While these terrible stories occur around us the reality is that sickle cell services in parts of London are being drastically cut, specialist wards closed access to important treatment and specialist care will be affected.

We do not need and will not accept any more apologies and definitely are not prepared to accept any more deaths. We must be heard and I for one will fight so that others, especially our young ones with sickle cell feel safe and assured that they are listened to and can receive the specialist care they need.

I also weep because shielding has been one of the hardest things mentally that I have had to deal with especially this final time, when thoughts of struggling, achieving and where I am in life has taken over my space in times of confinement. I could have done better if I had that opportunity but everything was just a struggle and just took too much energy which I just didn’t have.

I wanted to be somebody, I wanted to be given a chance, I simply would have just been happy being able to live a normal life without all the medical baggage that followed me on my journey.

I weep for Richard Okorogheye and his family because I know how tough it must have been as a young person growing up in this society with sickle cell disease, the madness that the world has gone through over the past couple of years. The trying to stay positive, the trying to continue strong when you don’t feel strong.

My siblings were a tower of strength for my mental health and wellbeing and growing up in a big family where brothers and sisters treated you as if you were 100% part of the team has helped to make me the person I am today.

My heartfelt sympathy and love goes out to both families especially the parents, I cannot begin to imagine how you are feeling, but please know this is the beginning and not the end.

Your children’s death will not be in vain, we all need to make a stand and end this lack of education, failure in our services and hospitals.

We need to stand strong and shout as we are tired and fed up of not being heard or taken seriously.

Laurel

You can find Laurel on Instagram @laurelbrumant

This blog is part of the Real Lives blog series, sharing the real stories of people living with sickle cell. Read more here: www.sicklecellsociety.org/category/real-lives-blog/

The post 2021 And We Still Cry: In memory of Evan Smith & Richard Okorogheye appeared first on Sickle Cell Society.

In private I was a mess, depression had me grasped and wasn’t letting up. In public I could pretend I was ok but it became harder so I withdrew. It was an extremely dark and scary time for me, I definitely wasn’t the person I am today although I still deal with it. I was a passionate pessimist and had an extremely negative outlook on life.

It just felt like my mind was being held hostage, it was like I was in a haze, I wasn’t really present, my body may of been but my mind certainly wasn’t. When I was going through this I didn’t have a name for it or know why I felt that way. I started to believe I was going “crazy” and something was really wrong with me. I couldn’t figure out why I felt the way I felt and I couldn’t control or change it.

I had an appointment with my GP who knew my extensive record with hospital so after trying to explain how I felt he posed the question am I depressed? and immediately I thought, am I? Why does he think that? On my way home I went online to look it up and it literally described how I felt, it was like ticking boxes.

Depression is taken really lightly and people think you can just “cheer up” which is really damaging to the person who is suffering. Mental health awareness is extremely important. Depression can affect anyone it doesn’t discriminate.

My #sicklecellfamily I continue to pray for your health happiness hope and strength

Aliya

(Find more from Aliya on Instagram: @stylemealiya)

The post Living on Autopilot: Sickle Cell and Depression appeared first on Sickle Cell Society.