27-year-old woman living with sickle cell shares emotional story, warns AS couples against risky marriages

A 27-year-old Nigerian woman identified as Zainab has shared a deeply emotional account of her life living with sickle cell disease, calling on couples with incompatible genotypes to reconsider marriage decisions that could place future children at risk.

Zainab, who is SS, revealed that both her parents are AS and were fully aware of their genotypes before getting married.

According to her, they believed faith and love would be enough to overcome the medical risks, a decision that ultimately shaped her life and health struggles.

Diagnosed before the age of two, Zainab said much of her childhood was spent in hospitals rather than playgrounds. Frequent medical crises caused her to miss school regularly, leading to isolation, misunderstanding, and stigma from both classmates and adults.

As she grew older, the pain episodes became more intense and disruptive, often interrupting her education and daily life. While her peers progressed steadily, her life followed a repeated cycle of illness, recovery, and setbacks.

She said …

“My name is Zainab. I’m 27 years old. An SS.

That is, I live with sickle cell disease.
My parents are both AS.

Oh, they They knew.
They were told.
They still married.

They said God approved it. They said love would be enough. They said faith would cover the consequences.

I am the consequence.

I was diagnosed before I was two. My childhood memories are not playgrounds or cartoons,they are; hospitals, needles, and adults whispering when they thought I couldn’t hear.

In primary school, I missed classes so often that teachers stopped asking why. Some classmates thought I was pretending. Some thought I was cursed. I learned early how to smile while feeling different.

By secondary school, the pain episodes became more frequent. I would wake up excited for school and end the day on a hospital bed. I watched my mates grow normally while my life moved in pauses, school, hospital, recovery, repeat.

At 15, I lost my younger brother to sickle cell.
We were both SS.

That day changed me forever.

My parents broke down in front of me — crying, apologizing, saying “We followed faith. We didn’t think…”
But the damage had already been done.

Sometimes I forgive them.
Sometimes I resent them deeply.
Both feelings live in me.

In university, I tried to be normal. I joined sickle cell advocacy groups, volunteered with awareness organizations, spoke at events, encouraged parents to test their genotype. People call me strong. They call me a warrior.

What they don’t see is me crying alone at night after another silent pain episode.
They don’t see the fear that comes with planning a future in a body that doesn’t always cooperate.

And Relationships?
That’s another wound.

I’ve been loved… briefly.
The moment conversations turn serious about marriage, children, commitment….they leave. Some are honest. Some ghost me. Some promise forever and disappear quietly.

One man once said he would do anything for me. He talked about taking me abroad, better care, a life without fear. I believed him. For the first time, my heart rested.

Then one day, he stopped calling.

That heartbreak triggered one of the worst crises I’ve had as an adult. Not because of physical stress but because hope collapsed.

Now I’m older. The pain episodes come differently. Less dramatic, but more exhausting. My body recovers slower. My fears are heavier. I ask myself questions my parents never asked each other.

I am strong, yes.
But I am tired.

If you are AS and the person you love is AS, please love your unborn children enough to stop and think. Faith is not a license to ignore knowledge. I am a proof to that

I didn’t ask to be a lesson.
But if my life can prevent another child from being born into avoidable pain, then my voice matters.

That’s why I’m writing this to you. Because people listens to you and this story needs to be heard. I hope that your audience share this till it reaches those who are about to walk by faith and not by sight, Sickle Cell is real!.

Adeyinka, keep rescuing lives, I love how you raise awareness and say the truth unapologetically, those who do not like you are probably those who wish they could be you. Have you met you?. Oh,I see you Queen Ade💪🏻”

Check out post below …