Well, now the time has come when I am very ill and have to be admitted hospital. The best way to get there and ensure that I'll be seen straight away is by Ambulance. This means that if I'm in serious pain on on the way to the hospital then I can be given something which will help alleviate it (analgesic).

Casualty (A&E)

When I arrive in casualty the details that the ambulance staff have taken about me are given to the nurse who admits me to casualty department. I am then assessed. It is usually decided at this point whether I am severe enough to be admitted to hospital at this point (there has not been a time I have gone to casualty and not admitted).

After this point I am then assessed as to what analgesia (painkiller), and dose, would be best for the severity of the pain that I am in. They come to the conclusion of the amount of analgesia I require by asking me questions about my pain. The usual choice is morphine, which is a very powerful analgesic. When the dose of this is agreed I am given an intra-muscular injection (IM injection) which usually gets rid of the pain (there have been times when the pain has been so bad that analgesics didn't work).

After the IM injection is given I have usually settled down and in less pain. Usually at this point I would instruct the doctors or nurses what is wrong anywhere that I may be feeling pain.

Intravenous canula

A line is put in to supply a steady supply of fluids which are needed in Sickle Cell to keep the blood flowing well and prevent further blockages. Any other further fluidic medication that may be required later are also given through the canula.

Oxygen is given to patients with Sickle Cell to keep the red blood cells supplied well with oxygen. This is because one of the major causes of red blood cells sickling is deprivation of oxygen, so it is important to keep red blood cells saturated with oxygen. A Saturations monitor is is used to measure the percentage of oxygen in my blood/body. The aim of giving patients oxygen is to prevent red blood cells from sickling and to keep their oxygen level above 95%.