‘I’m God’s favourite’ - Markelia Brown finding purpose amid health challenges

Twenty-five-year-old Markelia Brown confronts a daily regimen of 10 different medications to manage a multitude of health conditions. She is afflicted by rheumatic heart disease, sickle cell disease and asthma. But the Dumfries, St James resident refuses to be defined by her illnesses.

She was diagnosed with sickle cell disease at three years old, and has suffered severe pain for most of her life. People who suffer from the disease often experience severe bone pain, bone damage, painful leg ulcers, infections, loss of vision, and strokes. For Brown, one of her serious problems include having to live most of her life without a spleen, due to it needing to be removed shortly after her diagnosis.

Despite numerous hurdles and dire predictions from doctors, she has persevered, defying expectations by living far beyond the six-year life expectancy initially foreseen for her.

"A nuh smooth road. Mi a tell yuh seh a some hills and valleys and gutters and potholes," said Brown, who was diagnosed with asthma at just a few months old.

She told THE STAR that living with sickle cell disease has been very debilitating, particularly due to the intense pain she feels whenever there is a flare up.

"Yuh can deh yah suh right now and pain just start lick yuh out a nowhere. Sometimes yuh can't even touch yuh skin, yuh caah feel normal fi a second because yuh nuh normal, nuh matter how yuh wah tell yuh self seh yuh normal," Brown said.

But being afflicted by sickle cell disease is just the tip of the iceberg. In 2020, at the age of 22, she received the diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease, which led to an enlargement of her heart and leakage in both the left and right heart valves. To compound her troubles, she requires valve-replacement surgery, but this critical procedure remains out of reach due to her multiple underlying medical conditions, with doctors expressing concerns about her survival.

Because of her illnesses, Brown is unable to pursue many of her dreams or maintain a job for long periods of time.

"My passion, when I left high school, was cooking. I am a certified chef and a certified tour guide. I started working as a chef, but the doctors stopped me because I was getting sick," Brown said.

She sought employment in other areas but illness again intervened, making it difficult for her to perform her tasks. Despite the setbacks, Brown has found the strength to push ahead. She has also launched her own online store, Essentials by Kelia, and a growing YouTube channel, Keeping up with Kelia, through which she shares her story.

"I want Markelia's future to be the girl with the big podcast, the girl with the big platform, the big YouTube channel to inspire others. The girl on the tour bus; one a dem big Jamaica tourist bus deh, talking to guests and travelling the world, telling them about Jamaica. That's what I want, even though mi nuh healthy fi it. That's what I want," Brown added.

"I'm a girl who is very ambitious, outgoing and outspoken. I'm very bold, and no matter what is the case, I always keep trying. Mi neva mek sickness define who I am or determine what I can do," Brown said.

She says that surviving past six years old, despite the doctors' prognosis, has proven to her that God is in control.

"It mek mi know seh God a God. It mek mi feel like I'm God's favourite. It mek me feel like I am a queen, so I'm gonna rock just as I am. Mi feel good fi know seh despite it all, through it all, I'm still here. A nuh wah man seh, a wah God seh," Brown said.

Nonetheless, the inability to pursue her dreams at times weighs heavily on her, causing significant distress and often leading to feelings of depression.

"It hurts me. Why it hurts me so much is because I can't do what my heart desires. It makes me angry, it makes me fall into depression, and it's like it makes me want to hate myself. So I have to be telling myself, I have to say, 'Kelia, it's not your fault. No! This is not your fault.' It's hard because I can't fulfil my dreams, my vision, and the life I see for myself. It's too much. It's unbearable. It's hard, but God," Brown said as she tears up.

She emphasises that her faith and her family are what keep her going, and despite her illnesses, she believes God has a purpose for her.

"Sometimes I want to give up, not going to lie. But then, purpose can't die; it's there for a reason ... . God, that's how I'm handling it; believing in God that it shall be well. That's what I tell myself every day. That's the slogan, ]It shall be well'. So I trust God, and I say everything will be okay one day. I have to tell myself it's not my fault," Brown concludes.