"You ought to read the stories of how people have endured worst situations, You will find strength to survive life, you will find strength and power to overcome." I said to her. "Now, tell me, who have never been knocked down by life's circumstances?" Tell me any, "It takes grace and enough strength, to get up and begin again, to get up, stand strong, and be counted among the conquerors, among heroes of this World" I concluded.
This is a real life story of my friend Natalie (Not her real name), Apparently, she wants the world to learn from her experience, but she is not ready to reveal her identity because her "Battle has just began" but in due course her identity will be out.
Natalie's Painful Journey as told by her:-
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| Photographic Expression of Pain |
2015 January 1st was a year that
started well for me and as everyone ushered in the new year, I had a few wishes and one of them was good
health. Little did I know that this New Year had challenges that awaited me?
Flashback, it all started in August of 2014
with the occasional headaches that I would brush aside as anyone would. I always
thought I was tired or fatigued from the daily hustle of my work. You see I’m a
communications person and part of what I do entails a lot of field work,
interviews, photography etc. So headaches I can say are part of our daily
occurrence in the industry.
The headache lasted for a month and when it
would not go away I opted to see a
doctor. So I was treated for malaria and then typhoid and then blood infections
and the list goes on and on and on. All this went on for almost four months. I
became a common figure in the hospitals and even made a few friends, being a
lady I even had a few admirers who still hunt me down to date......hehehehe
talk of team mafisi.
My family became worried and suggested I visit
a specialist who would do a proper check on me. The process of going to a
specialist was not easy. It took me almost a month to just think about it. The
fear that I would have something serious kept holding me back, and since I’m a
believer I kept praying and hoping that the pain would just go away. It did not.
I finally gained courage and made an appointment
with a neurosurgeon. I remember very well the day I went to see him I kept
telling myself that it was nothing serious and he would just write a
prescription and send me home. I have never been so positive in my entire life.
The 30 minutes I spent with the Doctor were
the most traumatizing experience in my life. I had heard of cases where doctors
were insensitive but had never encountered one. So the Doctor kept telling of
similar cases he had encountered of people who had tumors and all manner of
weird cases. He sent me to do an MRI and a MRV, basically these are scans done
for the head and they use magnetic waves to scan the whole head. I needed 24k
to do the scans and he had said it was an emergency kind of situation. I
remember walking out feeling lost and confused. I was all alone with no money
and did not know what to do. I sat down next to the road...Yes next to the road
looking like some crazy fellow and just sunk in my thoughts. If you are familiar
with the Doctor’s plaza in Kisumu then you can picture me sitting by the road
side. The first person I called was my mother, then my only sister and before I
knew it my while family was calling me. You see in my family word spreads like
bush fire. Being the last born everyone was worried asking me all manner of
questions. I came to learn that family is the most important part of human
interaction. I have no idea where the money came from but within ten minutes I
had all the money.
I never imagined I would ever had to use
those scan machines that wheel peoples’ bodies into some space. They are very
traumatizing, a whole minutes in there with this noise that penetrates into
your scull. I sure came out of that place with a headache. I remember being in there
and praying, I remember saying these words “I will not die but live to see the
goodness of the Lord in my life” over and over. I must have said that like
1000 times. I sang my favorite song “No other name” by Bethu, I prayed and
waited until I was done. I could not get my results that day and so had to go back the next day.
Long story short I got my results and went
back to the Doctor. This time I went back with my brother who is a nurse and I
knew he would help me understand part of what the Doctor would say in a layman's
language.
The Doctor looked at my scan and I saw his
face turn from jovial and cheerful to
somewhat grievous. I knew all was not well. All I remember him saying was that I
had blood clots in my brain. I can’t remember what he said for the next
minutes or so. Later on I thanked God I had gone with my brother because he
kept reminding me about the medication and stuff.
I sat there lost in my thoughts wondering
what would be of me, I wanted to cry but I could not, I wanted to scream and
walk out of the Doctor’s room but I could not. I was stiff and my world had
come to an end. I never imagined it would be this serious. I had been an
unhealthy child growing up. I remember how cold would affect my bones and I
would cry so much. I remember how my mother would light the ‘jiko’ for me when
it rained just to keep me warm and comfortable. I remembered how in high school
I would have ulcers that would make my life difficult; I also remembered how my
eyes had given me lots of hell while reading in class. All my life I have had to
endure pain. As I sat there I kept wondering why I had to go through all this. Was
it my destiny to suffer? I remember asking my self so many questions which I
did not have the answers. I was woken from my slumber by my brother. He took my
hand and we went home, uncertain of what would follow after that.
My story had just begun. Click Here for Part 2 AWAKENING FIRE WITHIN - PART 2
My story had just begun. Click Here for Part 2 AWAKENING FIRE WITHIN - PART 2
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