How could I have been through the first trimester without realizing it?
Years ago, I mistook a pulmonary embolism for what I thought was a minor sickle cell disease vaso-occlusive pain crisis, a mistake that could easily have proved fatal. I promised myself afterward that I would never trivialize my symptoms again.
As it turns out, that’s easier said than done.
Last year, as winter began, I became more fatigued than usual, and it wouldn’t go away, not even after my usual exchange transfusion. I also noticed that I was urinating more frequently than normal. I thought I might have a urinary tract infection, although I’d never had one before, but as someone living with sickle cell, I know infections can develop more easily because of reduced immunity.