A Woman (Alhaja Asiata Onikoyi-Laguda) Living With Sickle Cell Clocks 90

At 90, Asiata Onikoyi-Laguda is believed to be the oldest person with
sickle cell disease in the world.

She was born in November 1925, the same year as Margaret Thatcher,
first female British prime minister and Malcolm X, the African
American civil rights activist. At that time, the average life
expectancy of children born with sickle cell disorder was just five
years, but she has defied the odds to live up to 90.


Due to the high level of illiteracy at the time of her birth, she was
never diagnosed with sickle cell. She endured years of pain, which
kept her away from school till she was 12 years old. Her pain was so
severe and frequent that she would beg God to let her die.
After primary school, she enrolled at Queens College Lagos, where she
met her husband Bolaji Alakija, who later became a doctor.


She did not know she had the sickle cell disease until after she had
given birth to five of her six children. Her husband, Dr Alakija, gave
her pills including folic acid to take every day, but kept the nature
of her illness away from her for a long time.
Dr Alakija had 10 wives and 27 children, when he died, she married
Alhaji Laguda, but she never had a child with her second husband.


She is the second of four children born from AbdulYekeen Ishola
Onikoyi, a prince of the Onikoyi ruling house, and Aishat Alake
Onikoyi from Kudeti, Ibadan.
In spite of her illness, she has outlived her parents, husbands and
siblings except one.


According to SCD Journal, in spite of the disease:

- She is under no dietary restrictions whatsoever: eats salt, eggs,
meat, sugar, fried food, etc as she likes
– Her blood pressure hovering around 160/90
– She has performed the holy pilgrimage to Mecca 13 times and Umrah
half a dozen times
– She observed the annual 30-day Ramadhan fast until she was over 88
and pressured to discontinue by her children
– She reads Bible, Quran everyday with glasses but moves around without glasses
– She takes public transport in super-c,haotic Lagos
– She gave birth to six children, all by normal delivery. When only
son passed away in August 2014 aged 59, she accepted the will of Allah
but prayed, "Please let the rest of the children you gave me outlive
me."


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