This week’s warrior is Ade, the founder and driving force behind the Sickle Cell Ning Community. This was one of the first online forums of sickle cell that I joined, and the group will always hold a special place in my heart.
Hey Ade! Thanks for doing this. Let’s start at the very beginning. How old where you when you found out you had sickle cell? I was really young, maybe 9.
How were you able to cope with school and sickle cell? It was tough, middle school and high school weren’t too bad. However college and grad school were the hardest because missing days are so much harder to makeup due to the work load. Luckily for me, I had very understanding professors that were willing to work things out with me.
How did your childhood and your parents influence you in your choice of career? I was always a technology geek, so I knew I wanted to do something techy, growing up I love video games, so that inspired me to want to learn how to make them.
Ooooh! You are a techy! Love it. What do you do? What kind of experience and schooling does one need to get your job? I am currently a sr consultant at Deloitte. I am in the systems intergration field, more specifically I do software development for our government clients. For schooling, one would need at least a Bachelors degree in a related field like computer science (which I did) or information technology
Describe a typical day on your job. It usually consists of sitting at a computer for 8 hours writing code, interacting with clients, creating necessary documentation etc.
How do you manage SCD and still maintain a thriving career? It can be hard, but I just push through daily, I try to always drink a lot of water, take my medication and listen to my body. A lot of days I am in pain at work but just have to suck it up and work through it.
Have you noticed a difference in how your coworkers treat you once they know you have SCD? Some times, yes, they might be extra nice but often than not no.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to join your profession that has sickle cell? Make sure to always have pain meds with you when at work because you never know when it will be needed and listen to your body.
Has sickle cell limited any areas of your life? Yes, I have a lot of friends who like to play sports and I cant usually join them because I get fatigue very quickly and have to watch most of the time and in many other ways as well.
When you do reach obstacles in your life, what helps you through it? I pray, listen to music and talk to loved ones about it
Do you have regular pain (more than 2x a week)? How do you cope with this when you are working? Yes, but usually its not too bad so I take some meds and soak in an epson salt bath. What is your daily medication regimen and what medications do you take when you are in pain? Daily, I take folic acid and used to take hydrea. for pain I take aleeve, percocets and with terrible pain I take Dilaudid.
Looking at the 14 year old version of yourself, what would you tell him or her if you could…? You should have gotten a 4.0 through out high school…lol
Yeah Ade…why were you such a slacker;) Thanks for doing this interview. Is there anything else that you would want to tell other sickle cell warriors? Keep on keeping on!