Hey lovely people!

I’ve been wanting to blog for a long while now, but for some reason I kept finding reasons to put it off! So to be finally interacting with you guys, feels great.

Living with Sickle Cell has been a journey for me; the relenting pain a crisis can bring is something I became accustomed to growing up. I spent copious amounts of time in and out of hospital, (like we all have!) and never really understanding why I had been dealt these cards.

I honestly feel like for a very long time (especially in my teenage years), that I had allowed the pain and distress this condition brings to define who I was as a person and I became content with being pitied. When I think about some of my worst days, and the times I spent in the arms of my loved ones, I truly believed this was going to be the course of my life for good and I would never really know what it feels like to be 100% well.

Before I started university some years back, I decided to switch up my diet and I became a vegetarian for a while which later led me to become experimental with cooking whole-foods as well as making lifestyle choices associated with holistic health. Around this time, I had also started taking Hydroxycarbamide which redefined my experience living with Sickle Cell. My body responded well to the medication and over time the frequency of my crises decreased and my episodes became less severe. I was able to get through university relatively easily although I did have my fair share of trips to A&E and a couple of hospital admissions. Subsequently, I decided to fully transition my diet to a plant based one, which basically means any foods derived from plant sources (e.g. Fruits, veggies, legumes).

This adjustment was definitely a challenging one to say the least! Especially coming from a family of avid meat eaters. However, gradually I noticed a significant difference in my general well-being (Yay!), which acted as a source of motivation to stay committed and continue introducing new regiments into my lifestyle. Making small changes such as drinking fruit smoothies, restricting consumption of processed  foods as well as doing some exercise catapulted me into a whole new world of wellness and pushed me to learn more about managing my condition through more natural methods.

As I mentioned, it hasn’t been an easy road and on many occasions I have caught my self slipping back into old eating habits and never really seeing my commitment through.  I am constantly learning new things about this way of living and I find it to be a fun experience if you trust yourself and avoid dwelling in the moments where you make a blip along the way. Now I feel I am ready to take this journey to holistic health to a whole new level and I hope you’re interested in hearing about how it all goes! I’d also love to hear from you all and would like to use this forum to speak openly on a varied range of life issues and how our experience with Sickle Cell can influence this.

I hope this journey of mine can inspire others to challenge themselves and open up to new opportunities and experiences. I look forward to sharing more about my past, present and future endeavours and hopefully we can create a support system of encouragement.

Thanks for reading and speak soon x

Moji

You can find Moji on Instagram here.