My 30 day results came in a couple of weeks ago and declared I'm 78% grafted to my brothers marrow and my sickle cell production is diminishing. Next stop: 60 days. Remember the fight continues for at least 6 months to a year so I'm far from the finish line. I have been progressing so well that I will be released from the program early, next Thursday to be exact. That simply means that I don't have to report to iPOP any longer and will go to my doctor for regular check-ups.
In other news, I have been experiencing some pain in my legs, particularly from my hip bone to my knee bone. Originally I thought it was Sickle Cell pain but I found myself at day 35 thinking, I should be 70-100% grafted with my brothers marrow so why am I experiencing Sickle Cell pain. One of the nurses theories was that because Sicklers are so in tune with their bodies and hyper aware of pain that maybe it was just an assumption. I took an ibuprofen as suggested by my charge nurse which is usually my secret weapon in sickness but it did not work at all. After having to take stronger pain meds a couple of nights in a row, I decided to research a more homeopathic remedy and refer back to my great-grandmothers southern medicinal recipes.
Often as an African-American, especially living in Brooklyn for the past decade or traveling outside of the U.S., you feel a disconnect from your history. I was surrounded by Caribbeans, South Americans, Europeans and Africans who could name their past 5 generations of ancestors, if not more than that. Many African-Americans are 6-7 generations in America and were completely stripped of their history, culture or because of the separation of families during decades of slavery, can't even call by name their grandmother's grandmother. Here I am, with a great-grandmother that is 109 and still alive and I am not [fully] utilizing having her here, still with me, to teach me things that I can pass on to my own children. For example, when I was growing up, she made this salve for my joints when I had a crises from Sickle Cell -- and it worked. I always felt better. The main ingredient for the salve was what I thought she called "Polk salad".
Now if you're a true southerner you understand the concept of "Medicine men and women" found in the mountains and their secret recipes. Essentially many African-Americans have a connection to the south as those were the ports in which our African ancestors were brought, sold or escaped into the mountains with the natives. My great-grandmother's mom was Cherokee (natives from the South Carolina region) and her father was from Africa by way of England, so medicinal treatments were regarded highly in our family. For bone aches and pains we were to rub this "Polk salad" on the joints with the hands continuously. The hand being a carrier of energy and the salve having a calming effect. 
In my research I discovered it's actually called "Poke Sallit" spelled s-a-l-l-i-t so as not to motivate anyone to actually eat it. The poke weed plant is highly poisonous and should not be eaten, although in many southern traditions the plant is boiled from 4-7 times to remove toxins, fried in lard (Crisco), then eaten. I read that it was commonly referred to as the poor mans "mustard greens". While some chose to eat the poke weed plant, it was also used to make cough syrups and salves. I remember the salve having a delightful smell, though nothing too sweet like a honeysuckle but more like a prune or a ripened plum. So after a bit of research, I did discover a recipe:Root of the poke weed
Clarified iodine (without the magenta color)
Oils (Eucalyptus)
Petrolatum or Beeswax
First you must wash the root, then chop it into small pieces, enough to fill up a jar. Add oils to the poke root, leaving it standing until it becomes a mush. Set it in a corner and forget it for a moon and a half (about 6 weeks). When the mush is strained, save the heavy liquid. Melt into it petrolatum or beeswax, and VOILA!
Now it is my goal to find this Poke Sallit and continue this tradition in my family. Whatever traditions or natural medicinal remedies you have in your family, please feel free to share your stories with me. Should you get to the poke weed plant first, please save me a batch!
Thank you for reading.
Peace and blessings,
Christina Madry
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