Marriage and Sickle Cell: Lessons in Love and Support

❤️ June 16 Issue

June – Marriage and Commitment

💍🩵☾

June – Marriage and Commitment 💍🩵☾

Marriage isn’t just about romance and rings—it’s about partnership through the unpredictable, about showing up for each other in ways that stretch beyond vows. When chronic illness is part of your love story, the lessons come faster and deeper than any premarital book could ever teach.

When I first started dating my husband, I didn’t tell him I had sickle cell right away. I had been rejected before—made to feel like my condition was too much to handle. That pain lingered. But one night, during a crisis, I knew I had to tell him. I needed him. I expected hesitation, maybe even distance.

But what I got was compassion. He didn’t fully understand sickle cell—he’d learned about it in school, but never truly encountered it in real life. Still, he stayed. He listened. And in that moment, I knew love could look like quiet strength.

Marriage with sickle cell has taught me that love often shows up in the small, sacred ways. It’s warming up a heating pad. Sitting through ER waits. Canceling plans without guilt. It’s not about fixing everything—it’s about being there. Sometimes, it means holding my hand during a hospital stay or letting me cry without needing to be “strong.”

I’ve learned to communicate more openly—especially when I’m too exhausted to pretend everything’s okay. I’ve learned to receive care without guilt and to let myself be held, emotionally and physically. That’s been one of the hardest, but most healing lessons of all.

Together, we’ve had to redefine strength. We’ve navigated the unknowns of health care, parenthood, and emotional exhaustion—not perfectly, but together. And every day, we continue to choose each other. That choice, made daily and deeply, is what real love looks like.

So if you’re loving someone through chronic illness—or being loved through it—know this: you don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be present.

With gratitude,
Whitney