On Saturday, February 14, lovers across the globe would celebrate Valentine’s Day, a day set aside to discuss love, romance, and other forms of intimacy. One of the primary desires of the average human is to find someone with whom they can share heart-warming moments, build a worthwhile connection, and possibly watch as their hearts palpitate simultaneously as they exchange body heat in the passenger seat.
Gifts would be shared between lovers, and social media would be flooded with photos of them, showing they can’t get enough of each other. Love is a beautiful thing; however, amid the fascinating feeling of seeing the absolute love of your life, there is a particular perspective that people often overlook. Perhaps it is wilful ignorance or the aftermath of sunk cost fallacy, lovers prefer never to talk about compatibility, health, and various forms of emotional and psychological well-being. For some reason, lovers listen to the butterflies rumbling in their belly, failing to realize that the decisions of today would inevitably affect their tomorrow or the near future.
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Before Walking Down the Aisle, Check Your Health
While everyone wants to discuss how much their lovers mean to them, I want to talk about the sad series of events that played out within a year about a family that I know.
The average Nigerian family is religious, according to the platform, Religion Unplugged. Nigeria is the second most religious country in the world and the number one in Africa. That is, out of ten people, you would have nine people who are either Muslim, Christian, or who practice traditional religion. Nigerians prefer to put everything in the ‘hands of God’, believing in miracles and firmly of the opinion that their case would be better different or whatever that means.
Religion is massive in Nigeria; meanwhile, there isn’t enough investment in sectors that directly affect individual lives, such as education, social welfare, and the medical sector. Nigerians live in hope and daydream about a beautiful tomorrow; unfortunately, the decisions of today, as earlier stated in this piece, would affect the events that unfold tomorrow.
I digress, back to my story, I met this beautiful family through their daughter, let’s call her Cynthia. Cynthia was a light-complexioned lady with brown eyes and a head full of curly hair; she was adorable. She was vivacious, and her energy was infectious wherever she was; simply put, she was the life of every party.
I was at a friend’s house party when I first saw her, couldn’t let the moment slip, so I went and made myself known to her. Of course, there was an immediate connection as we chatted away the evening and spoke about what enthralled us about life.
Interestingly, we were the same age, same month (not the same day, though), she was born exactly one week before I came into the world, our lives just seemed like we were created for each other. While we gradually warmed our way into our respective hearts as the days transitioned, Cynthia mentioned to me that there was something very important that she wanted to discuss with me.
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“I have something bugging my heart,” she said. “Go ahead,” I responded.
“I am a sickle cell patient, and I often suffer crises,” she replied. Stunned, the last time I heard anything about sickle cell ailment was when I was in higher institution. At the time, I knew at least five of my schoolmates who didn’t escape the ailment; there’s no need to mention names. Those were dark days, and Cynthia was about to take me back there.
I held her close and asked, “How often do you suffer crises?”
“Not very often,” Cynthia replied. “I’ve been able to control it, and through proper medication, I rarely get sick,” she added. Dishearteningly, she only mentioned this to ease my heart; she was far from healthy and was spending one of her family moments with me.
I didn’t know what else to say, so I gently pecked her forehead and promised her everything was going to be fine.
Days later, she introduced me to members of her family, her parents, and her six siblings. It was in this moment that I realised she wasn’t the only sickle cell patient in the family; every one of her siblings is a victim of the sickle cell disease.
Adorable family plagued by a nefarious disease, I can’t fathom the amount the parents must have spent on medical treatment over the years. I enjoyed the time spent with the family; however, something was off, a languorous energy that hovered within the atmosphere. I didn’t know the exact words to describe it, but I’ll soon figure it out in a couple of months.
Days before Christmas of that year, I was informed by Cynthia’s sister, Sofia, that the young lady had died. She died in her sleep.
At the funeral, there was gnashing, wailing, and a deep sigh of regret from her parents. They wish they could go back in time and skip the first moment they said hello, they wish they hadn’t shared the first kiss, or choose to walk down the aisle.
Cynthia’s untimely death was one of the most disheartening moments in my life as an adult. Barely two years later, Sofia, who is the sister of Cynthia, died of the same ailment.
These are the repercussions of listening to the butterflies in your stomach rather than focusing on what is logical and ideal for humans to do.
Time for some education.
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Understanding Sickle Cell Ailment
eelive.ng gathered that Sickle Cell disease, otherwise known as SCD, is an inherited disorder characterized by the presence of a variant form of haemoglobin in red blood cells, which become distorted into a crescent shape at low oxygen levels, leading to their premature destruction and often to blockages of small blood vessels. It is most common among people of African descent.
SCD prevents the haemoglobin in red blood cells from carrying oxygen to all parts of the body. Sickle cells clump together, blocking small blood vessels and causing painful and damaging problems. SCD is treated with pain medicines as needed, drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water each day, blood transfusions, and medicines.
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Conclusion
While everyone is in the euphoria of Valentine’s Day celebration, lovers shouldn’t get carried away with the physicality and warmth of their partners and should endeavour to do some research about the emotional, physical, and biological well-being of their partners.
Protect your future, including your finances and offspring. Like Cynthia and Sofia’s parents, the repercussions would be expensive in the near future and would inevitably leave teeth gnashing and wincing. To avoid regrets in the near future, know your partner’s genotype and do the necessary research in understanding the essence of compatibility.
This is my message for lovers and couples across the globe.
