My name is Felix, and I was born in 1989 with sickle cell disease (SCD). Before I was born, my parents had already lost my elder brother to the same condition. He passed away before his second birthday. When I came into the world, there was a real fear that I would not survive either.
Back then, treatment options were limited, and many children with sickle cell disease did not live long. But my mother refused to give up. She held onto her faith, followed every medical recommendation she could, and fought for me every single day. One year became five, five became ten, and against all odds, I grew into adulthood. Today, I am 36 years old.
Living with sickle cell disease has never been easy. It has meant countless hospital admissions, repeated blood transfusions, unbearable pain crises, swollen limbs and joints, and complications that most people can hardly imagine. There have been days when even getting out of bed felt impossible. Yet through it all, I have tried to live life fully, appreciating every healthy day I have been given.
Unfortunately, years of chronic anemia have taken a heavy toll on my body. About six years ago, my sickle cell disease began damaging my vital organs because they were not receiving enough oxygen-rich blood. My lungs were affected, and for much of last year they were functioning at less than 40%. My kidneys also began to fail.
For the past five years, I have been battling chronic kidney disease (CKD). My kidneys can no longer effectively remove waste from my blood, causing my creatinine levels to remain dangerously high. While a normal creatinine level is around 100 ยตmol/L, mine stayed between 400 and 500 ยตmol/L for years despite treatment. This year, it rose to over 1,000 ยตmol/L, leaving me with no option but to begin emergency dialysis.
My failing kidneys have also stopped producing enough erythropoietin, the hormone that stimulates the body to make red blood cells. Combined with sickle cell disease, this has left me dependent on blood transfusions several times a year just to survive. However, frequent transfusions carry serious long-term risks, and my doctors have advised that they are not a sustainable solution.
Today, the best hope of saving my life is a kidney transplant. It offers me the chance to stop dialysis, regain my health, and continue living the life I have fought so hard for since childhood.
I have spent 36 years fighting against the odds. I have never stopped believing that tomorrow could be better. If you are unable to share my story in your page and keeping me in your prayers would mean just as much.
Thank you for standing with me and giving me hope.
RT widely
Grateful to the people of Trans-Nzoia County for the warm reception you gave the Linda Mwananchi team.
One Team. One Mission. Together, we move forward.
Somo ber, as @wuodosur says it๐
If it were not for the books, I would probably be somewhere in Lumakanda wearing oversized suits on Christmas Day๐.
We thank God.