Sickle Cell Warriors Reveal the Key to Staying Mentally Resilient as They Battle the Painful Chronic Illness
Sickle Cell disease can make a patient’s life almost unbearable. Debilitating pain crises can make it impossible to live in a normal way because of all the medical care required to manage this chronic illness.
Yet, there are so many amazing stories of transformation and examples of sickle cell warriors who have seemingly conquered the worst aspects of this disease and learned how to manage it in a way that causes fewer disruptions in their lives.
The CEO of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia, Inc., Tabatha McGee, is trying to help all warriors advance to a place in their lives where they control the disease and the disease doesn’t control them. That’s obviously easier said than done.
But with the foundation’s new TV series “Unveiling Sickle Cell: Beyond the Pain,” that’s exactly what McGee is hoping to accomplish.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a group of inherited blood disorders that can cause severe pain and complications and can affect the entire body
Sickle cell warrior DeMitrious Wyant has battled sickle cell disease through childhood and into his teenage years.
When he was 15, he developed an extremely severe case of priapism, a condition when the red blood cells in the penis can cause a persistent and often painful erection that, the worst cases, can last hours. If this condition develops, medical care is required immediately.
But the now 37-year-old told McGee he is thankful that the surgeries he endured helped him and that he is well now. But his experience prompted him to want to help others and he developed an awareness campaign to do just that.
“I’ve delivered and sent out care boxes to young men and caregivers all across the world, about 200-plus boxes that I’ve sent out. It’s a t-shirt and a brochure, an educational brochure allowing them to understand what priapism is and allowing them to know that it’s an extension of sickle cell. Educating them on being proactive with it and steps to take before having to get emergency surgeries and things like that that I had to face,” Wyant told McGee.
Kadeem Harrison, the director of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Georgia, Inc.’s Camp New Hope, was diagnosed with SCD when he was 2 years old and, like many other patients with this potentially life-threatening illness, he was told by doctors he wouldn’t live past 18.
Harrison told McGee that moving to Atlanta and starting work with the foundation changed his life.
“Because growing up there was no hope for me … So, moving here, that kind of gave me hope. Going to camp and seeing other people living well with sickle cell that really changed my life, and I’ve been pushing ever since then,” he explained.
Staying mentally strong and resilient can be tough for sickle cell warriors. Wyant told McGee it takes prayers and a proactive approach to the disease.
“I definitely do a lot of writing. I’ve been a writer since I was a kid, expressing myself, that’s what I do. I entertain and I create music and that’s how I stay on top,” he said.
“Having faith is what it’s all about,” McGee agreed.
Harrison agreed that prayer and faith are instrumental for him, as well, in staying on top of the disease.
“And having a good support system outside of just family because, of course your family can be a great support, but you need something outside of that. Having people that know what you’re going through. Somebody who when you say, ‘Hey my back hurts,’ they know what you mean, that your back hurts. So, having that great support system has been very, very helpful,” he said.
And the support system Harrison just explained is one of the ways to maintain a positive outlook. Other ways include practicing self-care, cultivating a growth mindset and even finding support through therapy.
-By Shelby Lin Erdman