I want to share something painful from my past, something that affected my life forever. So, I got married in the year 2000, and not long after, I gave birth to my son, Raymond. From the moment he was born, our lives became full of hospital visits, sleepless nights, and endless medical expenses.

The sickness didn’t just affect my son, it affected my marriage too. My husband and I were always stressed. We argued constantly. We blamed each other for everything. Love slowly disappeared from our home. We went from lovers to strangers who only talked about hospital bills.

In 2006, the marriage couldn’t survive anymore. We went our separate ways, and I was left to raise Raymond alone. It was hard, so hard that I had to leave my acting career behind. I just couldn’t focus. I was broken. Then came the biggest blow of all, Raymond passed away at the age of 17. That pain is something I carry with me every day.

Please, know this before you fall in love, know your genotype. Love is truly a beautiful thing, but it is not strong enough to carry the weight of this sickness called sickle cell. Know your genotype before love blinds you. I lost everything because I didn’t.

- Eucharia Anunobi