Living with SCD: Finding strength, nourishment, and hope through everyday choices

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Living with Sickle Cell Disease teaches you many things. It teaches patience when your body refuses to cooperate. It teaches resilience when pain arrives uninvited. It teaches humility when you realise that some days, simply getting out of bed is an achievement.

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But perhaps one of the most important lessons chronic illnesses teach is that life is often lived in small steps rather than giant leaps.

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For many people, health is measured by major events: a successful operation, a new treatment, or a hospital discharge. For those living with SCD, however, health is also built quietly through everyday decisions. One of those decisions is what we choose to eat.

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I have come to realise that living with SCD is often about living one meal at a time.

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One of the challenges of SCD is that the body is constantly working behind the scenes, even when we are not in the hospital, not in crisis, or appear well to others.

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The body is still:

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Replacing damaged red blood cells

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Managing inflammation

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Repairing tissues

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Coping with reduced oxygen delivery

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Fighting fatigue

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It is an invisible workload that many people never see.

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This means that nutrition matters, not because food can cure SCD, but because the body needs support to keep doing the difficult work it performs every day.

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For many years, I viewed food mainly as something to satisfy hunger. Like many people, I enjoyed the occasional sugary treat, convenience meal, or snack without thinking too deeply about its effect on my health.

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However, living with a chronic illness gradually changes your perspective. You begin to ask different questions:

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Will this food support my energy levels?

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Will it help my body recover?

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Am I nourishing myself or simply filling a gap?

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These questions are not about perfection. They are about awareness.

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The longer you live with a condition such as SCD, the more you realise that the body notices what you feed it.

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One of the mistakes many of us make is believing that health requires dramatic changes. We imagine complicated diets, expensive supplements, or impossible routines.

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Yet some of the most powerful changes are surprisingly simple:

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Drinking more water

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Eating more leafy greens

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Reducing excessive sugar intake

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Including more fruits in our diet

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Eating regular meals

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Avoiding long periods without nourishment

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None of these choices are exciting enough to go viral on social media. Yet they often matter more than the latest health trend.

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Health is rarely built in a single day. It is built meal by meal, habit by habit, choice by choice.

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There is also something powerful about reconnecting with traditional foods. Many African households grew up eating meals rich in vegetables, beans, fish, fruits, herbs, and minimally processed ingredients.

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Long before nutrition became fashionable, our grandparents were preparing meals filled with nutrients that supported health naturally.

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Today, convenience foods dominate many diets. They are quick, accessible, and heavily marketed. But sometimes, the old ways still have much to teach us.

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A bowl of beans, vegetables, fish, and other whole foods may not seem glamorous, but it often contains exactly the kind of nourishment the body needs.

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Anyone living with SCD understands fatigue. The tiredness associated with the condition is different from ordinary tiredness. It can feel deep, persistent, and difficult to explain to others.

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While food cannot eliminate fatigue completely, certain eating patterns may help support more stable energy levels. Many people find that balanced meals, adequate protein, proper hydration, and reducing excessive sugar intake can help prevent some of the energy crashes that make fatigue even worse.

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Again, this is not about achieving perfection. It is about giving the body the best possible chance to cope with the demands placed upon it.

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At the same time, we must be careful not to turn nutrition into another source of pressure. Living with a chronic illness is already difficult enough. There will be days when pain wins, exhaustion wins, and convenience wins.

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Food should support wellbeing, not become another reason to feel guilty.

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The goal is not to become obsessed with every mouthful. The goal is simply to make more nourishing choices when we can.

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As someone living with SCD, I have learned that healing is often quieter than we imagine. It is found not only in hospital treatments and medications but also in rest, hydration, supportive relationships, prayer, and nutrition.

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The body may not respond dramatically overnight. Yet over time, these small acts of care accumulate.

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One healthy meal may seem insignificant. One extra glass of water may seem insignificant. One serving of leafy greens may seem insignificant.

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But chronic illness teaches us that small things matter.

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Living with SCD can sometimes feel overwhelming. There are challenges we cannot control and symptoms we cannot always predict. Yet within that uncertainty, there remain small choices that help us care for ourselves. Nutrition is one of them.

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Food is not a cure for SCD, but it is a form of support. It is one of the ways we partner with our bodies rather than work against them.

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Perhaps that is why I have come to see nutrition differently, not as a quick fix or a miracle solution, but as a quiet act of self-care.

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Because sometimes, living well with SCD is simply about moving forward one day, one choice, and one meal at a time.

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If you would like to get in touch with me about sickle cell, please do so via my email address: [email protected].

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You can also visit my blog: https://www.dailylivingwithsicklecell.com/.

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My book on sickle cell, How to Live with Sickle Cell, and my other books are available for purchase on www.amazon.com.

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