What the Hell We Go Through

Let’s talk about what sickle cell patients really go through in hospitals.

It starts early.

You're a child, in agony, and you’re told you’re being dramatic.
You're scared, but they’re cold.
You're in crisis, but you're labeled “difficult.”
Already, you're learning that your pain is negotiable.

You grow up. It gets worse.
You walk into A&E, barely able to stand.
They make you wait.
Ask you to “rate your pain.”
As if you haven’t been living at a 9 out of 10 your whole life.

Sometimes, they don’t even believe you’re in pain.
They think you're drug-seeking.
They don’t know your condition.
They don’t read your notes.
And when they do act, it’s often too late.

Negligence in sickle cell care isn’t rare.
It’s routine.
And it’s killing people.

Let me be clear:
Sickle cell pain is not just physical.
It’s institutional.
It’s psychological.

Because every time we’re dismissed, doubted, delayed
something inside us dies a little.
Hope. Trust. Safety.

This is what the hell we go through.
And it’s still happening.

The system needs to stop seeing us as problems
and start treating us like patients. Like humans.

Because one wrong call, one delayed dose, one biased judgment—
can be fatal.

We don’t want pity.
We want competent, urgent, respectful care.

Start there.