Finding My Pace: My Journey with Sickle Cell and Exercise

I like to believe that having sickle cell doesn’t at all limit my potential. If I really want to do something, then I can. However, I have to say I have always struggled with physical activity. My family is very into sports. Both my parents did track and field. My father was undefeated in table tennis. My brother was somehow good at every sport and played college football. Then there’s me.

First attempt with basketball

I have basically no hand-eye coordination and not a single athletic gene in my body. How did those all skip me the way all the sickle cell genes skipped my brother?! Ugh life’s not fair, but I was determined to find the sport for me. I started like any child by racing the other kids in the neighborhood. I could never keep up and would tire easily.

Then I tried basketball to bond with my family, who loved watching my brother play. I could handle just playing with him in front of our house, so I signed up for the girls' basketball team. That was very short-lived. I started to get frustrated by how easily these activities wore me out, so I talked to my doctor, who recommended staying hydrated and avoiding contact sports.

Exploring individual sports like tennis

Next, I took on outdoor tennis. Another sport loved by my brother and my father. Hoping to bond, I would join my brother on the court on the weekends. I really grew to enjoy tennis and felt optimistic I had finally found my sport. That didn’t last very long either. Anything outside of a casual, short game felt too physically demanding, and I needed to take a lot of breaks.

Trying to find my balance

In college, I turned to dance. I loved to dance, but could never find enough energy for more than 5-minute bursts, again requiring a lot of fluids throughout.

I had accepted that sports just weren't for me, but I hoped I could still enjoy other physical activities. Before starting medical school, I did yoga and weight classes at the gym once a week. They were fun and allowed me to go at my own pace while taking in all the water breaks I needed.

Finding a pace that works

Since starting medical school, I haven’t really had as much time to hit the gym – I don’t know how my classmates do it. But since starting clinical rotations, I have been forced to confront my physical well-being again. Simple things like walking the full length of massive hospitals or running up flights of stairs have once again proven quite physically demanding for me.

I keep hoping that if I keep pushing myself, my body will eventually adapt and better tolerate physical activity. Yet here I am, months into taking the stairs more regularly, and they still exhaust me. Okay, I have gotten better. I can handle two flights pretty comfortably, but not if I’ve done anything else before. I’m going to keep working on it. I’ve signed up for a workout class, and I’m excited to have a space to go at my own pace again.