AS genotype is not in itself a disease.This only depends on your location and the activity you engage in.

It's believed that Nigeria has more cases of sickle cell trait than any other country in the world. Growing up I have always known that my genotype is AS, but I did not know that another word to describe my condition ( some one with a trait) , which means I' m a carrier of the defective gene, and can have sickle cell attacK.

I found out the hard way when I got hired as a dispatcher for a local police department. One evening, shortly before the end of work day, the police chief pulled me aside and asked"I heard you are a good bballer ? "I said not really but I can play and I'm physically fit. He said in that case I won't have a problem with you, because I can't afford to lose any staff right now , since we are having physical fitness certification next week, and any one that falls below expectation will most likely be fired. On hearing that, I was confident because I feel strong and very fit.

On the day of the test I felt a little anxious because I have not been working out for some time, as all I do was sit on the couch eat almonds nuts and watch investigation ID and Pawn Stars, But I still felt a little confident because everyone in that police department have protruded tummy except Me and the chief.

When I got to the venue I quickly noticed an ambulance and paramedics patiently standing by. I wondered what they were doing there, little did I know they will eventually save my life.

As soon as the event started they put us through 50 press ups for the men and 20 for the ladies, I was doing well in all the events until it got to the 200 meters race. In fact I could not wait for the event to kick off, because even though they knew me as athletic individual, they don't know how competitive I could be, so I wanted to show not only what am made of, but to make my department look good as there are competitors from other police departments.

Yes, I won gold decisively as the next guy was about four poles behind me , but little did the enthusiastically cheering crowd know that I was half dead, because it was as if the whole air around me has disappeared in the visissitude of life. The only reason I finished the race was my innermost ability to mount opposition against anatomical, physical, and spiritual oppression. I immediately fell to the ground on reaching the finish line . The last I remembered was the paramedic guy asking me "what seem to be the problem sir?" To which I managed to utter the words ' I can't seem to breath'

I woke up on the hospital bed after 30 minutes. Heard the doctor saying "I need to ask you a couple of questions ? "as soon as I signaled yes , she immediately said, "do you have any medical condition I should know about ? "I said no, and I went ahead to tell her that I have only been to the clinic once in
my life, and I am physically active . She said "i' m trying to find out why your oxygen level is so low." To which she threw the next question at me ,"are you a sickle gene career ?, I said no but am AS then it hit her that I Am a sickle cell gene career performing exhausting physical activity in a very high elevation and a hot summer day. In other words I could have been as good as dead because I suffered a sickle cell attack as a result of my blood been sickled from exertion in high altitude.

She recommended that I be discharged immediately and advised me to stop engaging In any form of heavy physical activity within that geographic location ,and any area that is very high above sea level because there's usually very low oxygen concentration at high altitudes, and that can trigger sickle cell attack in in people with sickle cell trait(AS). She further advised that I do a little research about sports men living with the trait.

I went home and started to research about this condition that brought me to my knees health wise for the first time in my life, after just a few minutes of research, I found out that a couple of athletes have actually died from sickle cell trait complications .

Although most of the deaths occurred among American football players, mainly due to the physical nature of the game.As a result NCAA decided to enshrine it into their rules that every athlete must undergo genotype test to ascertain if they have the trait or not.

Being a carrier does not disqualify a anyone, but then you would have to sign a waiver that you wish to participate in sports activities regardless, so your family won't have to sue NCAA in case of sudden death arising from your trait.

So when engaging in highly physical activities like exercise and sports, or even physically demanding jobs, be aware that your S gene can sickle if you push too hard in extreme environment, Nigeria does not really have high altitudes, but then if we embrace autopsy we might just realize that a lot have already died from this complication.

References:


http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/8335923/pittsburgh-steelers-ryan-clark-play-denver

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120802/Sickle-cell-trait-link-with-sudden-athlete-death-e28098confirmede28099.aspx


http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/athletic-activity-could-be-fatal-to-those-with-sickle-cell-trait/

Quite enlightening. Thanks