.png)
Hello everyone, my name is Isowa Odiase, aka Chocho, Isochocho. I always remind myself that I am the daughter of the KING of KINGS. I am His special one, He has brought me and kept me alive so far to make a positive impact to everyone I am in contact with through love, health, wealth and perfect self-expression for His glory. To show the wonderful works of God and inspire others to know Him. This is my mission.
I am a Full time jobber (Accounting & MBA, Finance, Lead Business Analyst, Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) with 17+ years work experience).
I am a Wife to my loving Husband and a Mother to two Blessed children.
So, why are you reading this?
About three years after I was born, my parents found out that I have Sickle Cell Disease. Apparently, I started showing symptoms of the disease when I was 4-5 months old; my left knee was swollen, which was one of the early signs. I couldn’t move my knee for weeks, but eventually got better and started walking at 9 months! From then, I would show signs of swollen belly (spleen), feel aches and pains in my joints, limbs, back, waist, teeth, basically everywhere, have constipations, acute chest, pneumonia and more.
When I have a Sickle-cell crisis; which would happen anywhere and anytime (very scary, tough, unpredictable, frustrating). I would feel aches and pains basically in my whole body and would be rushed immediately to the ER or call 911, and then be admitted in the hospital for about a week or more.
Let me summarize the physical pain & suffering, which would sometimes also affect me emotionally, mentally & spiritually.
Talk about PAIN, symptoms & Treatments!
Emergency Room visits, thousands of injections, attempts to draw blood from veins, insertion of Port, so much medication that may have caused loss of hearing in my right ear, swollen spleen, series of surgeries on my left leg {almost amputated}, Hospital Admissions - missed school days, missed work days, screams, cries "why me Lord, why me??", Prayers. Drop in Hemoglobin levels, PCA pumps, drowsiness, Oxygen, fevers, pneumonia, nausea, blood cultures, pulmonary embolism (clots in lungs), Acute chest syndrome, Lots of units of blood transfusions, high iron levels due to blood transfusions, medication (with its side effects) to reduce iron levels, and so on and so on.
Recovery would take about another 2-3 weeks or so, and then I would try to catch up on life, maybe not get another crisis until the next month or a few months and the cycle would continue. It's so tough!
Why Warrior?
My definition of a warrior is - a person engaged in some struggle/obstacle, a survivor, strong, courageous, determined, almost perfect, will always persevere in the end, a HERO.
Over the years people who suffer with Sickle Cell disease have been known as Sickle Cell Warriors (my name is Isowa + warrior = Isowarrior 😉). I completely APPROVE!
We are strong, determined, and blessed!
So what is Sickle Cell Disease?
Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder that disrupts red blood cells. So typical red blood cells contain hemoglobin A (HbA), while people with sickle cell disease have red blood cells with mostly hemoglobin S (HgbS), an atypical type of hemoglobin. The atypical "S" hemoglobin causes red blood cells to become sickle-shaped (crescent-shaped). This makes the sickle-shaped cells difficult to a pass through small blood vessels causing so many symptoms (sometimes fatal) in the body. There are several types of sickle cell disease;
sickle cell disease (SS disease, most common),
sickle hemoglobin C (SC Disease),
and sickle-cell beta thalassemia (Sß+ or Sß0 disease)
Common complications include: anemia, pain crises, and infections.
A sickle cell crisis can be extremely painful and require instant medical attention.
Severe complications include: pneumonia, acute chest syndrome, stroke, and other life-threatening complications. These complications are not limited to any age, and can occur in infants with sickle cell disease as well.
I am using this platform and my Non-for Profit called ISOWARRIOR to: · Raise awareness · Advocate and Support other Sickle cell patients/warriors (financially, emotionally, spiritually) · Create various Infusion centers (IV fluids/Hydration) for Sickle cell patients in the rural areas in Nigeria · Assist the medical community to research for a Cure · Collaborate with other Sickle Cell organizations. ISOWARRIOR will also raise funds through various programs and initiatives. A GoFundMe has been set up to initiate ISOWARRIOR’s mission. I also have a short video of my story, sickle cell, Isowarrior and a mini interview with a friend, who is also a warrior.
Sickle Cell is a universal problem and any support through donations will be very helpful to in order to improve lives and make the world a better place for generations to come.
Thank you so much for your help thus far.