Help me manage my sickle cell pain

I received a diagnosis of sickle cell disease when I was around 18 months old. I have since experienced very challenging symptoms and diagnoses, including avascular necrosis, iron overload, and pulmonary embolism. Changes in my body caused by sickle cell have also significantly affected my mobility and my social life.Experiencing a crisis is awful. The pain is excruciating. It feels like someone armed with knives in their hands and spikes on their feet jumping, stabbing, and stamping to their own rhythm inside a selected part of my body. The knives feel like they are deep within the epicentre of my bones and stabbing outwards, at every angle, in an attempt to escape; creating a piercing radiating pain. When I present to you in crisis, I am in agony. But you can help me through these difficult, traumatic—yet recurring—vulnerable periods in my life. Empathy is crucialWhen I am experiencing a sickle…
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