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You probably wouldn't guess this college freshman has sickle cell disease.

She went through a lot as a kid, but now she's finally coming out strong.

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Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Taylor Delk just started college in Atlanta, and she can't wait to get into dating for the first time.

However, she has one major concern: when and how should she tell the boys she likes that she has a serious disease?

All photos via Taylor Delk.


Taylor has sickle cell disease — a genetic disorder that affects the health of red blood cells and can cause extreme pain, tissue damage, impaired fertility, strokes, and even early death. She has type SS, which occurs when you inherit copies of the hemoglobin S gene from both parents. It's the most common form of the disease and also the hardest on the body. It means she can experience the worst symptoms like regular fatigue, joint pain, anemia and infections at a higher rate.  

But perhaps the hardest aspect of her disease is that you can't tell she has it just by looking at her.

"It’s always hard to open up to people [about the disease] at first," Taylor says. "Sometimes I would feel embarrassed, because it’s not normal, really."  

While she's always had sickle cell disease, that doesn't make talking about it any easier.

As a young kid, she got very sick all the time, which often required regular trips to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. A couple of times she even had acute chest syndrome, which is a severe side effect of sickle cell disease that causes intense chest pain and can be life-threatening.

Needless to say, she missed a lot of school.

She was usually open with her close friends about her condition, but other kids at school would occasionally question her about her illness because they couldn't see any evidence of it.

Taylor (second from the left) with her fellow varsity cheerleaders.

"I remember when I was younger, my peers would be like, 'Well you don’t look sick,'" Taylor recalls.

She'd find herself having to say things like, "I’m not sick right now, but, you know, I am. My body is not the same as yours."

For example, she can experience pain spikes that start at a 4 on the pain scale and suddenly jump to a 9, but they don't always show on her face.

The disease ramped up during her adolescence, likely because her body was growing and changing rapidly. However, once she reached her senior year, her symptoms began to mellow out. But that doesn't mean she can't still have a pain crisis anytime anywhere.

She's learned to cope with the effects because of her amazing support system, starring her mom.

Taylor at prom.

"My mom never leaves the hospital," Taylor says. "She never leaves me by myself." Her extended family also checks in with her on the regular and even stays to help out for days at a time during Taylor's more severe episodes.

Her mom also constantly encourages her to talk candidly about her disease, which should help her as she makes her way through college.

"My mom made me tell people," Taylor recalls. "I think she wanted me to be comfortable with myself."

The encouragement seems to have helped. Taylor now finds it much easier to be open about it, even with people she doesn't know as well. She realizes people need to know in case she finds herself in a crisis without her family nearby.

They also need to know so that future generations of people with sickle cell disease don't feel like they have to hide it.

Even though her symptoms have settled, Taylor's still talking about sickle cell disease, not just for herself, but for everyone.

Taylor at the airport with her friend Alexis.

Especially her little sister, who also has sickle cell disease.

Taylor's sister Trinity is 11 years old and has the same type of sickle cell disease Taylor has, but so far, her case seems to be less severe. However, that hasn't stopped Taylor from being a good big sister — aka pestering Trinity to take care of herself.

She constantly tells Trinity to drink water and gives her tips for coping with pain crises, like take a walk, use heat pads, listen to music, and talk to someone to distract yourself.  

And most importantly, she encourages Trinity to be open about her disease so she grows up without any shame.

Now that Taylor's on the precipice of a new adventure, she plans to live life to the fullest, sickle cell disease be damned.

Taylor at high school graduation.

Yes, that means making new friends and meeting boys, but it also means starting out on a path towards an exciting career. She's taking pre-law classes and plans to become a lawyer, which is not a stress-free field. And even though stress has been known to exacerbate symptoms, Taylor's not shying away from her dream.  

She's also trying not to shy away from talking about her disease with new people. She knows the more who understand it, the less alone people who have it will feel. Caregivers at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center know that too, which is why they offer counseling and support groups for children living with sickle cell disease as well as their parents.

And who knows, that candidness could lead to an amazing new relationship.

To learn more about sickle cell disease or the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, visit choa.org/fightsicklecell.

Health

4 simple hacks to help you meet your healthy eating goals

Trying to eat healthier? Try these 4 totally doable tricks.

Photo by Anna Pelzer on Unsplash

Most of us want to eat healthier but need some help to make it happen.

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When it comes to choosing what to eat, we live in a uniquely challenging era. Never before have humans known more about nutrition and how to eat for optimal health, and yet we’ve never been more surrounded by distractions and temptations that derail us from making healthy choices.

Some people might be able to decide “I’m going to eat healthier!” and do so without any problem, but those folks are unicorns. Most of us know what we should do, but need a little help making it happen—like some simple hacks, tips and tricks for avoiding pitfalls on the road to healthier eating.

While recognizing that what works for one person may not work for another, here are some helpful habits and approaches that might help you move closer to your healthy eating goals.

man pulling chip out of a chip bagOur mouths loves chips. Our bodies not so much.Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

Goal: Snack on less junk food

Tip: Focus your willpower on the grocery store, not your home

Willpower is a limited commodity for most of us, and it is no match for a bag of potato chips sitting on top of the fridge. It’s just a fact. Channeling your willpower at the grocery store can save you from having to fight that battle at home. If you don’t bring chips into your house in the first place, you’ll find it a lot easier to reach for something healthier.

The key to successful shopping trips is to always go to the store with a specific list and a full stomach—you’ll feel much less tempted to buy the junky snack foods if you’re already satiated. Also, finding healthier alternatives that will still satisfy your cravings for salty or crunchy, or fatty foods helps. Sugar snap peas have a surprisingly satisfying crunch, apples and nut butter hit that sweet-and-salty craving, etc.

slice of cakeYou can eat well without giving up sweets completely.Photo by Caitlyn de Wild on Unsplash

Goal: Eat less sugar

Tip: Instead of “deprive,” think “delay” or “decrease and delight”

Sugar is a tricky one. Some people find it easier to cut out added sugars altogether, but that can create an all-or-nothing mindset that all too often results in “all.” Eating more whole foods and less processed foods can help us cut out a lot of ancillary sugar, but we still live in a world with birthday cakes and dessert courses.

One approach to dessert temptation is to delay instead of deprive. Tell yourself you can have any sweet you want…tomorrow. This mental trick flips the “I’ll just indulge today and start eating healthier tomorrow” idea on its head. It’s a lot easier to resist something you know you can have tomorrow than to say no to something you think you’ll never get to have again.

Another approach when you really want to enjoy a dessert at that moment is to decrease the amount and really truly savor it. Eat each bite slowly, delighting in the full taste and satisfaction of it. As soon as that delight starts to diminish, even a little, stop eating. You’ve gotten what you wanted out of it. You don’t have to finish it. (After all, you can always have more tomorrow!)

colorful fresh food on a plateA naturally colorful meal is a healthy meal.Photo by Anna Pelzer on Unsplash

Goal: Eat healthier meals

Tip: Focus on fresh foods and plan meals ahead of time

Meal planning is easier than ever before. The internet is filled with countless tools—everything from recipes to shopping lists to meal planning apps—and it’s as awesome as it is overwhelming.

Planning ahead takes the guesswork and decision fatigue out of cooking, preventing the inevitable “Let’s just order a pizza.” You can have a repeating 3-week or 4-week menu of your favorite meals so you never have to think about what you’re going to eat, or you can meal plan once a week to try new recipes and keep things fresh.

It might help to designate one day a week to “shop and chop”—getting and prepping the ingredients for the week’s meals so they’re ready to go in your fridge or freezer.

woman holding blueberries in her handsOrganic foods are better for the Earth and for us.Photo by andrew welch on Unsplash

Goal: Eat more organic/humanely raised food

Tip: Utilize the “dirty dozen” and “clean 15” lists to prioritize

Many people choose organic because they want to avoid pesticides and other potentially harmful chemicals. Organic food is also better for the planet, and according to the Mayo Clinic, studies have shown that organic produce is higher in certain nutrients.

Most people don’t buy everything organic, but there are some foods that should take priority over others. Each year, researchers from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) analyze thousands of samples of dozens of fruits and vegetables. From this data, they create a list of the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” fruits and vegetables, indicating what produce has the most and least pesticide residue. These lists give people a good place to start focusing their transition to more organic foods.

To make organic eating even simpler, you can shop O Organics® at your local Albertsons or Safeway stores. The O Organics brand offers a wide range of affordable USDA-certified organic products in every aisle. If you’re focusing on fresh foods, O Organics produce is always grown without synthetic pesticides, is farmed to conserve biodiversity, and is always non-GMO. All animal-based O Organics products are certified humane as well. Even switching part of your grocery list to organic can make a positive impact on the planet and the people you feed.

Healthy eating habits don’t have to be all or nothing, and they don’t have to be complicated. A few simple mindset changes at home and habit changes at the grocery store can make a big difference.

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Those that were born to be teachers find teachable moments everywhere and one woman found herself in one of those moments. Though this one was likely just a bit more personal than she probably would've liked.

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Dorothy Hoffner tried skydiving for the first time on her 100th birthday and loved it.

Dorothy Hoffner is pure #agingoals.

If you're looking for some aging inspiration, look no further, because Dorothy Hoffner is about to blow your mind.

At 104, Hoffner just became the oldest person to parachute out of an airplane in a tandem skydive. That's right, skydive. At 104 years old—or to be exact, 104 years and 289 days old—beating the previous world record set by a 103-year-old in Sweden in May of 2022.

But it's actually even more impressive than that. It's not like Hoffner is someone who's been skydiving since she was young and just happened to keep on doing it as she got older. She actually didn't go on her first skydiving adventure until her 100th birthday.

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“Let’s go, let’s go, Geronimo!” Hoffner said after she boarded the plane, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Watch her do what many of us would be too terrified to attempt:

The way she rolls right out of that plane cool as a cucumber! Hoffner told the Tribune that on her first skydive, at age 100, she had to be pushed out of the plane. But this time, knowing what she was in for, she took charge with calm confidence.

“Skydiving is a wonderful experience, and it’s nothing to be afraid of," Hoffner shares. "Just do it!”

That's some seriously sage advice from someone who knows firsthand that age really is just a number. Learn more about skydiving with Skydive Chicago here.

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