Comment

Comment by P.Allen Jones on July 28, 2009 at 1:12am

Keep fighting and praying. Sometimes young people have a hard time accepting this situation (why me). But, you keep on fighting for your life...don't give up. Get mad at SCD and fight to live. We know the drill: water, rest, meds, food, ect.

One thing that will also help is "good attitude". Michael Jackson's favorite song was "Smile", look up the words, they are soo true. God bless!

Comment by Debra Archie on July 12, 2009 at 6:18pm

Hi Shatera and Richard, I feel honored, with you inviting me to be on your blog.I've had SCD, for 51 years.I also was hospitalized in June with a crises. I had to get 4 units of blood. This is the first time getting that much blood at one time. I guess its from my age. I don't know.Even when I was discharged from the hospital, I still had some bad days. Especially with swelling in face,hands, and feet. One thing I don't have, is a pity party in
feeling sorry for my self. With my age, I appreciate God for keeping alive this long. I pray about my situation everyday and I will be praying for you. I also have 6 beautiful children. Ages ranging from 31 to 17. On June 30th, I started taking Nicosan. I hope it will make a big difference in my life. For the last few days, I haven't had any pain. I really don't have any thing more to tell you on how to handle your situation than what others have been telling you on their comments to you. Just don't over do things. I don't care what no body say. If you can't do something, because you're tired and exhausted, DON'T DO IT!!! So sweetheart just hold your head up. We are all awesome people, and one more thing, we don't look our age. I did do a comment earlier, but I don't know if you got it are not. So I did it again. Hope I wasn't a bore, talk to you another time. Take care of yourself.

Comment by Nina on July 12, 2009 at 12:36am

Hi Richard and Shatera,
I hope you feel better soon. My 11 mo old son has SCD too. I confess that at the beginning was very hard to accept that my little one born with some health condition. But despite the docs make me feel every time more depress I just start to research by myself and get educated about SCD and all the approaches people use around the world to treat people with SCD. As our friend said before nutrition and hydration means everything. My son was just 4 mo when the docs want to transfuse him, we lived a worse nightmare at this time, then we start to give him lots of food rich in vitamin B17, lots of seeds, alkalines, like beets, and some another natural juices.
I read some study done in one university in NY where they found that zinc as a supplement dose helps people with SCD once its reduce the risk of infections and reduce crises, too. Here is the website : http://www.thirdage.com/healthguide/zinc.

Take care,

Aline

Comment by Sickle Cell Warrior on July 10, 2009 at 1:10am

Hello Richard & Shatera,

I'm so sorry to hear that Shatera has been so ill. For me what has worked best has been Nicosan...I went a whole year without a crises...and no pain at all. It's an herbal remedy from Nigeria, that keeps your cells from assuming the rigid shape while also making your blood vessels supple. Check http://sicklecellblog.blogspot.com/search/label/Nicosan for more information.

Beyond that, you have to make sure that you stay as infection free as possible. Something as simple as a stomach flu can have me laid up in the hospital for a week.

And of course I know you know this but HYDRATION, HYDRATION, HYDRATION! This cannot be preached more than enough times. Being properly hydrated keeps your blood from getting too thick, and helps to flush out the clots sometimes. Add to that, since there is oxygen in water, it helps with the oxygenation of the cell.

A good healthy, balanced diet is important. Avoid fatty foods, since this can cause plaque to build up in your arteries (and we have enough probs with clots as it is). Try foods high in vitamins like kale, spinach, beets and carrots, and high in minerals like potatoes and yams.

Make sure you get lots of rest. I find that I'm more prone to crises when I'm stressed or overworked about something. Now I make sure that I sleep no less than 7 hours a night.

I'm sure the others have some great tips as well. Look into alternative remedies and find what works for you. Remember, your mind is the most powerful thing that can help fight sickle cell, dont get overwhelmed with it...you are a child of God, and sickle cell is just your testimony.

Send me a message if you ever need to talk about anything.

Cheers,

Tosin.