HOW SICKLE CELL DISEASE (SCD) TOOK MY STELLA AWAY FROM ME
It all started on that fateful Friday night, at the Youth monthly vigil. I saw her. 'Get a hold of yourself man!' I had to caution my wandering mind. My testosterone levels were about to hit the roof. My heart pumped faster, and nearly burst through my hapless rib cage. My adrenaline rush made me want to grab her to myself. But I had to behave. I was in God's presence. Next morning, we introduced ourselves. “I'm Harry, MLS 500 level.” “I'm Stella, MLS 200 level.” We were in the same Department of Medical Laboratory Science. Three years later, I proposed and she said yes. We started making preparations. We had to go for premarital laboratory tests. “I would like to see you both in my office please,” the Chief Medical Laboratory Scientist told us a few days later when we went back for our results. “I'm sorry,” he continued, “our results show that both of you possess Haemoglobin genotype AS.” His words sounded like a bombshell. The shrapnel from the explosive revel...