As a result of having less blood and oxygen flowing through your system, your body may mature at a slower rate. Having Sickle Cell Anemia may cause you to be of a lighter weight and smaller build than other kids your age. In addition, puberty may be delayed.
If you are a certain age and feel as though you haven’t physically matured like some of your friends, try to be patient. There’s nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. Everybody matures at their own rate. In time, those more adult characteristics that come with puberty will happen for you too. Sometimes hormone treatment is used when puberty is delayed longer than what’s normal even for Sickle Cell patients. Only by being open and honest with your doctor will you know what’s best for you.
I was what many call “a late bloomer.” Puberty came late for me. When I received my driver’s license at sixteen, I was 5ft 2in tall and weighed seventy-five pounds. I had to sit on two pillows to see over the steering wheel. I grew nearly six inches taller after high school and leveled out at 5ft 10in. Though I eventually put more weight on—by age thirty I weighed 130lbs—I’ve always had a thin frame.
I stated previously, when researching Sickle Cell as an adult, I found myself saying “I wish I had known that when I was a teenager.” Had I understood that my illness was the cause of my delayed growth, and that I would eventually mature like my friends, I think I would have felt better about myself while in high school. With knowledge comes understanding.
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