Comfort and Joy Sickle Cell Foundation

20/04/2026

Fatigue in Sickle Cell is more than just tiredness.

In an individual with the AA genotype, the red blood cells live for about 120 days.

They circulate efficiently, delivering oxygen to tissues without interruption.

But in someone with the SS genotype? Those red blood cells are fragile.

They sickle.
They break down quickly.
They survive only 10–20 days.

And this causes the body to go into overdrive.

The bone marrow is constantly working, to ensure new red blood cells are produced to replace the ones being lost as quickly as possible.

It’s like running a factory on emergency mode every single day.

And even with that effort, it’s still not enough.

Because fewer healthy red blood cells equal to less oxygen delivered to tissues.

And less oxygen equal to fatigue.

So when someone living with Sickle Cell says they’re tired…

The most compassionate response isn’t advice, it’s understanding.

16/11/2025

ALTERNATIVES TO GENETICALLY COMPATIBLE RELATIONSHIP(end)

‘FAITH’-INDUCED RELATIONSHIP

Many get married - or have sexual relationships - with folks that are genetic mismatches with the plan that, against all odds, through the exercise of their ‘faith’, they’ll manage to pull sickle cell-free babies into existence. This alternative to genetically compatible relationships is especially common among religious folks.

Let’s look closer at this.

Is faith a myth? Don’t even go there! Is the exercise of faith wrong? Not at all! On the contrary, there’s hardly anything of worth men achieve in life that’s bereft of faith - whether it’s consciously or unconsciously exercised.

We don’t hop into a marriage with someone we didn’t know from Adam without faith that, come hell or high water, it’d go well. When we start a business, it’s with a deep-seated belief that we’ll succeed. And, truth is, even belonging to a religion is not without a rock-solid conviction that, at least, it’ll buy us salvation and a yummy afterlife!

Nonetheless, though this is not a religious piece, we’ll like to express some disquieting thoughts.

Faith is not a loner - it works with meaningful company to help it deliver. One of its beloved coworkers is action or effort. Faith walks with uncertain steps any time action sits back at home. Why? It’s because action clears the pathway for faith’s potency to drive in. Without the right action, faith is just a rocking-horse! So much movement but no progress!

Let’s take some examples.

Why would a fragile young man desire a peaceful marriage and, instead of reading and attending relevant programs to sharpen his discerning skills so he can pick well, he goes ahead to marry a well-known nagger and warlord! Then after receiving a couple of slaps from the iron-lady, he starts praying, fasting and attending emergency marriage counselling!

Did that lady fit into his dream of a ‘peaceful’ union?

Or, why would a woman plan to head to Lagos from Port Harcourt and when she got to the bus terminal -or airport - she buys ticket for Kaduna? Then, the minute the plane took off, she starts sweating buckets, calling on God and His top arch-Angels to encourage the pilot to forget Lagos and be en route to Kaduna!

For starters, what communication does a Kaduna ticket have with a trip to Lagos?

If a couple were handed a false genotype result by one of those rag-day laboratories, it’s understandable. But to deliberately yank along a genetic dissent and now start exercising faith for a non-sickle cell child, is unnecessarily settling oneself up for back-to-back nose-bleeding!

Did you know grace can be overstretched or abused?

When folks express faith under some wrong circumstances, they may end up disappointed. Without any intention, whatsoever, to disparage, we submit that this is why not a few clergymen who KNOWINGLY dared this path have got their fingers badly burnt. Not because their services are not appreciated, but because grace is abused!

Doubtless, friends, the right time for a man that desires a non-sickle cell child to ‘flex’ his faith muscles is BEFORE, NOT AFTER establishing marital or sex-involved relationship. Doing it AFTER is brazenly playing Russian roulette!

Please, think about it.

SOCIETY FOR HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

05/11/2025

To everyone who contributed towards this; Thank you! Thank you!! And God bless you. 🖖🏽🕯️✡
That is not all, we can still do this one more time. 🙏🏽

01/11/2025

ALTERNATIVES TO GENETICALLY COMPATIBLE RELATIONSHIP(3)

‘LOVE’-DRIVEN RELATIONSHIP

The Filipinos have never stopped telling anyone who cares to listen that ‘you don’t tell the heart who to love.’ This is largely true. Even in these times that money and affluence have received power to purchase ‘love’, you could still tell when you genuinely love someone.

So, when a person is unrepentantly in love with someone else, it shouldn’t be trifled with or wished away. Love is real - let’s not set up a debating contest on it. And anywhere you find real love, noble ‘guys’ like patience, forgiveness, tolerance and forbearance usually lurk around. Including the ability or propensity to take risks.

But, love flows from the heart, and the heart, with all its emotional rollercoaster, is not always right! In fact, a synonym of the heart left out of the dictionaryn is, ‘headlong’. Because, as long as its feelings and emotionality are in place, calculated risks, sound judgment and proper analysis should go to Olumo Rock and hit their heads there! The heart doesn’t care.

Let’s do a volte-face, please.

Before a plunge, the mind, on the other hand, normally asks itself, “supposing I dive in there and scatter my head on a rock, what will I tell people?” So, it reasons, analyses and judges, and, through meticulousness and sound judgment, it achieves its goals MOST times. But, because it’s always expecting heaven and earth to align with logic, it turns its butt on gut feeling and intuition.

How do we connect the dots?

Let’s see.

In feeling love, for example, the heart should seek the scrupulous counsel of the mind and not think that the whole world is weighed only with the scale of Romeo and Juliet. And, the mind, in reasoning, must allow the gooey and tampering caress of the heart, and do well to remember that even Albert Einstein made mistakes and had weaknesses.

When the heart is impregnated by the soundness of the mind, the love that issues from it is sacrificial and seeks for the good and wellbeing of others. But, anytime it’s over the moon and euphoric, it divorces the advantage of the mind, and questions like, “What’s your genotype and blood group?” go back to sender!

As far as it’s concerned, if Rhesus factor, genotype and relatives are going to stand in the way of its joy, then all of them are killjoys that should be ferried to River Nile and drowned there, for all it cares. Good riddance to serial spoilers!

The gift of the mind to man is so great that no man can operate beyond the level of his mind! Therefore, though the heart has its solid place, hinging a sexual relationship solely on unguided love, produced by the flimflams of the heart, is divorcing the resourcefulness and cross-checking abilities of the mind. And a decision taken this way is lopsided and will likely lead to shipwreck!

So, is it proper to lean only on the fragility of ‘unsalted’ love to take a decision on something as dire as a sexual relationship?

Be the best judge.

SOCIETY FOR HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

19/10/2025

Every little bit counts when it comes to making a difference. Your generosity can truly help save a life. Please consider donating. 🙏🏽🙏🏽

11/10/2025

Most sickle cell warriors suffers from mental depression but don’t say it and, refused to speak about it to medical professionals or even families. I pray that God give them the courage to speak out.

Today, Friday, 10 October 2025, is World Mental Health Day. I was diagnosed with Depression in 2019, and I am on an antidepressant. Talking about my mental health condition in an enabling environment has helped me to seek appropriate mental healthcare. Many people who are suffering from different me...

26/06/2025

💚 Help Save a Life: Support Gabriel Musa’s Kidney Transplant Journey 💚

Dear friends, family, and kind-hearted strangers,

We’re reaching out with hope and urgency. Our beloved, Gabriel is facing a life-threatening kidney condition and urgently needs a kidney transplant. While the emotional toll is immense, the financial burden is just as heavy. From pre-surgery care to the transplant procedure and lifelong medications, the costs are overwhelming.

That’s why we’re humbly asking for your help.

Whether it’s a small donation, a share of this post, or simply keeping Gabriel in your thoughts and prayers — every act of kindness matters.

🧡 100% of funds raised will go toward:

Transplant surgery and hospital costs
Post-operative care and anti-rejection medications
Travel and accommodation for medical appointments
If you’re able to contribute or share, you’re helping give Gabriel a second chance at life.

📍Donate here: https://gofund.me/49ed89b1
OR
GTB: 0177215622
Musa, Gabriel Osiapkhemhi

🙏 Please share and help

18/05/2025

STOP Replacing Blood Transfusion With Ugu and Milk!

I will always speak against giving Ugu and milk and others in place of a blood transfusion for sickle cell warriors.
I will keep speaking even if it makes some of you uncomfortable.

Because a child just died.

Why?

Because someone told the parents not to allow a blood transfusion.
They said:

"It’s a scam."
"Doctors are lying."
"Just go home and give Ugu and milk."

They listened.

They came back…
And it was too late.

Now, the parents are crying.
But should they be the ones crying?
No!
Because they were warned.
The child needed BLOOD. Not leaves. Not milk. Not guesswork.
And in sickle cell, time is life.

How on earth do you think ugu and milk will help a child with 14% PCV?

Blood transfusion is not evil.
Doctors are not magicians.
Delay is dangerous.
And misinformation kills.

Please stop promoting all these deadly "alternatives."
Someone with a stable PCV of 28% of the person has PCV of 18% will need a blood transfusion, but here you are asking the person to take ugu and milk because the last time you were at 18%, you didn't receive a blood transfusion.
But you forgot to mention your stable PCV is 20%

No child deserves to die like this.
No parent deserves this kind of pain.
Let science and care do what they were made to do.

I'm exhausted,so is Kemi Oguntimehin But we will keep shouting.

Because, this can’t keep happening.

07/03/2025

GREAT FOODS FOR SICKLE CELL FOLKS

YAMS(4)
Yam also passes the litmus test as one of the foods that’s appropriate for the sickle cell person.

Why so?

UPLIFTING
One of the fallout of sickle cell that sufferers will love to give a Bruce Lee kick is, fatigue. Listlessness and fatigue may not always come from depletion of oxygen resulting from sickle cells’ weak hands to hold the element, sometimes, it comes from sudden energy crash caused by certain foods we eat.

Yams are complex carbohydrates. When consumed, they break down slowly in the body with gradual glucose sips into the bloodstream, and this results in stretched or sustained energy level in the body of sickle cell folks. No quick rise and fall of glucose levels like you get from simple carbohydrates like white rice, white bread, fruit juices, pastries, etc..

Co-opting this food, therefore, is a smart pick for the SCD sweetie pie.

MENTAL HEALTH INTEGRITY
‘Don’t go there’, is not in the vocabulary of sickle cell disorder. The lawless thing goeth where it ‘listeth!’ And because of its rough play, it can impact negatively on the mental and nerve health of the sickle cell person. Silly thing!

Diosgenin, a compound found in yams, has been proven to improve mental function and nerve health. If the SCD honey, therefore, seeks to preserve his cognitive abilities and not slide into dementia and its partner-in-crime, Alzheimer’s disease, one of the foods to spend money on is yam.

GOODLY STOMACH/INTESTINES
The general wellbeing of a person, most times, depends on whether his guts(stomach/intestines) wear ‘bulletproof’ or just ordinary singlets! That’s, healthy guts equal a healthy person while ‘anyhow’ guts equal a nice playground for a long list of named and unnamed diseases!

This is also true for the sickle cell dude, but yams have you covered.

Yam has fibre that doesn’t digest in the stomach and intestines, but become ‘shawarma’ for good intestinal bacteria. As these friendly bacteria multiply and grow big from this sumptuous diets, they fight off the bad ‘guys’ and their ‘party members’, thereby creating spick-and-span guts.

NO RED CARPETS FOR INFLAMMATION
The mother of diseases - inflammation - also becomes a goner through frequent munching of yams. This is because, the college of antioxidants abiding in yams continuously create slippery grounds for inflammation to enjoy even a waiting-room in the delectable body of the SCD. person.

With all these, would you really need to be cajoled to make yams one of the foods that should adorn your plates?

10/06/2024

Zobo Drink: The Ultimate Warrior's Health Elixir

1. Cell Health and Repair: Bursting with antioxidants and phytochemicals, zobo drink supports healthy cell growth and repairs tissues, ensuring you stay strong and resilient.

2. Immune System Boost: Zobo increases levels of glutathione and white blood cells, critical for a robust immune system that fights off infections.

3. Combat Anemia: Regular consumption of zobo can help prevent anemia, particularly in sickle cell patients, by promoting the production of new red blood cells.

4. Digestive Aid: Zobo promotes smooth digestion, helping your body absorb nutrients efficiently and keeping your digestive system happy.

5. Vitamin C Power: Rich in Vitamin C, zobo drink is a fantastic immune booster, protecting you from colds and other illnesses.

6. Energy Boost: Packed with Vitamin B3, zobo supports overall body health, giving you the energy and vitality you need for daily activities.

7. Nervous System Support: The Vitamin B1 in zobo leaves maintains a healthy nervous system, ensuring your brain and nerves function smoothly.

8. Fatigue Fighter: Zobo is rich in riboflavin (Vitamin B2), a vitamin that helps your body produce energy, combating fatigue and weakness.

9. Hydration Hero: Zobo helps keep you hydrated, which is crucial for maintaining energy levels and overall health.

10. Heart Health: Regular intake of zobo can support heart health by helping to maintain healthy blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Drink up and enjoy this delicious beverage that keeps your body in top shape!
- Comfort and Joy Sickle Cell Foundation © June 10, 2024