9 thoughts on “Do Not Call me a Sickler!!!”

  1. amanda

    This is such a great video! I'm definitely going to tweet about it. I think you have the perfect attitude. I hope you'll consider submitting it to the WEGO Health blog carnival for March because the theme is Patient Empowerment – and this video embodies being an empowered patient better than almost anything!
    Here is where you can submit an entry: http://community.wegohealth.com/group/healthbloggers/forum/topics/march-blog-carnival-patient

    Keep up the great work – you're doing huge things for the sickle cell community and the online health community in general! 🙂

  3. KAMMs

    THANKS FOR THE VID!
    I HAVE SICKLE CELL & ACTUALLY DON’T MIND THE WORD/LABEL ‘SICKLER’ AT ALL! THOSE WITH CANCER ARE CALLED CANCER PATIENTS, THOSE WITH DIABETES ARE CALLED DIABETICS. NO HARM IS MEANT BY ANY OF THE TERMS & I PREFER SICKLE OVER ‘PATIENT’ OR ‘VICTIM.’ JUST MY 2CENTS. :O)

  4. Bridgett

    I agree with Kamm…we SC patients are always complaining about NOT being recognized enough in the medical community. So what is it? Do you want others to know what we go through or are we hung up on terms. The term Sickler only identifies us by what happens with our blood cells. I would much rather a nurse or Dr., use the term Sickler it reassures me that they at least know what their talking about. I had my 1st crisis at the age of 3 and did’nt get diagnosed until I was 17, so I am happy to be called something that applies to ME. Now PLEASE don’t get me wrong IF you have had negative experiences that happened to follow that term, by all means be offended but please don’t get all up in arms about it. It’s not as though we’re children on the playground and the bully has the entire school chanting “Sickler, Sickler Sickler”
    I already feel like a mutant b/c of the changes that my body is going through as it is…I really don’t need my nurse to be apprehensive about what to call me while they are trying to take care of me. We are all in this together so can we stop blurring the lines about what is actually the help and respect that we are just beginning to receive.

  5. Jaycee (E.A)

    When I was younger I heard the tag “sickler” a lot, and it often made me feel like people had tagged those with this genetic condition just like they tag people with leprosy. I don’t like the term either. So it’s a good thing to speak your mind/vent about this. Keep being a warrior 🙂

  6. Dr C

    You lost me when you conceeded that you would adorn the title of “bitch” rather than “sickler” as well on a few other points.

  7. Niyo

    Thanks for airing that out darling! Grrr..It pisses me off when someone calls me a “sickler”! Ts not as if we are sick 25/8,we have our lives fully living it and enjoying. Having sickle cell doesnt make us sicklers…

  8. Olajumoke

    I believe the term ‘sickler’ was coined from the fact that our rbc tends to take that sickle shape a lot of time, which is the underlining peculiarity of this disorder. However the ‘sick’ part of the word happens to have overshadowed this meaning and seems to be the usual reference when people mention it. It sort of carries an underlining message as to your always being sick. I always say I have sickle cell disorder, I’ve never said I’m a sickler. I cringe at being called a ‘sickler’

  9. Kiki

    Dear Warriors,

    Thank you so much for all your suggestions and words of encouragement. So I need some advice. I was recently diagnosed with AVN on my right hip and the pains appear to be getting worse. I live in Lagos Nigeria and the option of doing the THR surgery is quite a scare especially owing to the fact that proper medical care in Nigeria is not “guaranteed”. Please any ideas or comments from someone who’s gone through the surgery?

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