[afro-nets] Food for a sickling thought!

["ZIH Zila" <haven2sickled@yahoo.com>]

Food for a sickling thought!
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Social Injustice and ignorance fuels morbidity and mortality in sickle cell anaemia cases (sicklers).

Sickle cell anaemia is a pre disposing factor to a number of blood borne diseases not just because of blood transfusions. They are more likely to get into more sexual relationships than non 'sicklers', exposing them to blood borne diseases like HIV, hepatitis and syphilis especially if they indulge in unprotected sex. However in a community like ours where most men want to get a sign of pregnancy before marriage, 'sicklers' who may be more desperate than their counterparts to find a soul mate have a huge problem.   

A sickle cell patient is more likely to get into a lot of sexual relationships because their partners drop them for fear of what will happen next when they get into another crisis after experiencing the first. Lets me go further to elaborate on this. There is a sickler here in Bamenda who had a fiancé for close to 2 years in Yaoundé but this fiancé had never experienced a crisis situation but the girl pays him a visit someday and suddenly the eyes go yellow, she starts shivering and screaming of pain and lapses into unconsciousness. Her boyfriend took her to the hospital and the doctor tells him it?s a bone crises. He could not stand the site and there fore takes all of  her belongings to the hospital and deposited a huge amount of money for her bills and then fled because what he thought the disease was, was not what he saw.

This girl may have to get into another relationship and will even get into more if her fiancés flee all the time. Sicklers, even more than other humans will seek relationships for comfort, security an procreation, this girl therefore has to seek another relation ship which might end up like the previous one. They are therefore exposed to diseases such as hepatitis, HIV/AIDS and other STI

What do you think should be done?

ZIH ZILA
WAMUCHO
and Okwen P Mbah.
P.O Box 114
Tel:+237 7451641
mailto:Haven2sickled@yahoo.com