Determined to live - Man with sickle cell disease discovers cyst growing on brain

Man with sickle-cell disease discovers cyst growing on brain

The adage "if it is not one thing, it's another" seems to fit Coy Hall's life like a glove.

As he learns to cope with the complications from the sickle-cell disease he was born with, he has discovered that a life-threatening cyst is growing on his brain.

But like he has been forced to do all his life, Hall is determined to overcome this new adversity.

And the thrill he got when he walked across the stage to collect the certificate for his first degree last year November is still fresh in his mind, and, according to him, it will serve as a reminder that he can win this battle too.

With numerous complications from sickle-cell disease, Hall worked at nights and studied for his Bachelor of Arts in History and Education during the day from 2012 to 2016 at the University of the West Indies.

But the discovery of the cyst seems to be rendering those efforts futile as he was advised by doctors not to take jobs like teaching, which are considered stressful, as it may cause the cyst to get bigger and lead to death.

"My illness is emotionally induced. When my stress level is very high, it puts me in the hospital because I start to bleed from my nostrils," Hall explained.

"They say that I should try to get a desk job, but I haven't been able to secure one."

HARD TO OPERATE

According to Hall, his doctors told him that his best bet is to go on a drug that would slow the growth of the cyst as it would be risky to try to remove the cyst via surgery with his medical history.

"If they go in there and drain some of the fluid from the cyst, that could get infected, and you really don't want that, especially having sickle cell," Hall said.

He said that because he has been unemployed, he is finding it difficult to find money to procure drugs to prevent the cyst from continuing to grow.

"Celeixa is the name of the drug, and what it does is control the growth of the cyst," Hall said. "They want me to go on it for six months to see how it will work. If it doesn't work, I don't know what will happen."

The 32-year-old said he is also determined to learn how to live with this new illness to prove to others that they can overcome anything.

"The thing that is strange about Jamaicans is that they tend to shun you when you are sick. People who I used to par with every day, when I call them now, they don't answer," Hall said tearfully. "My own uncle told my mother not to bother with me because mi soon dead."

Those wishing to assist Hall may contact him at 344-7936.