Page 46 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 12

HEALTH & HEALING

AFRIKA
MY AFRIKA
MY
was now about me, and whether I
would live or die. My entire life, my
family, my work, and my future were I promised myself to pursue my
suddenly at stake.
dreams without seeking approval
My coronavirus cycle was in three
phases. The first phase was marked from anybody. I thank coronavirus
by denial. I had mentally refused
to accept that I was sick. I forced for helping me to find myself, and to
myself to work until I couldn’t work
anymore. I had extreme fatigue, fe- liberate me from ‘others’.
ver, confusion and general weakness
of the body, but I didn’t think it was
Covid-19. For over one week, I tried
to survive on over-the-counter med- Panadol, didn’t work either. I was in doctor who ordered several tests
icine such as Panadol, Claritin and a lot of pain and suffering. Deep in- on me, including a Covid-19 test.
Augmentin. I proceeded with my side me, I was still convinced that all The Covid-19 test was negative but
the fever, fatigue and high tempera-
this was the continued side effects
normal action-packed days, albeit of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which tures persisted. At 3am Priscilla had
with a lot of difficulty. I continued
to feel feverish and extremely tired, would go away. to rush me to Aga Khan Hospital
and suffered a sore-throat, head- because my temperature had shot
aches and confusion. On Saturday, March 13, I stayed in- up to 39 degrees Celsius. Hospital
doors at my home at Nkubu, feeling tests found nothing. Surprisingly, the
feverish, weak and generally con- temperature was normal, at 37. So
I did not have the usual Covid-19
symptoms like coughing or sneez- fused. My wife came and we we returned home.
ing, but I was feeling extremely travelled to Nairobi the
tired, had a severe back-ache, following day. Our On Tuesday, March 16, my
children had pre-
brother Dr Kiraitu came to
indigestion and a bloated stomach. pared an exciting see me at home and found
To put it in layman’s language, I was
not really myself. I just pushed and surprise birthday me in a terrible state. I
forced my body to work. for my wife, was drowsy and always
Priscilla, who felt like being left alone
was turning 60.I to sleep. He called Dr
On Tuesday, March 9, I took the had great difficulty Mwongera and arranged
AstraZeneca vaccine. Although I
was not feeling very well, I had to “surviving” the for me to be admitted to
convince the people of Meru that party. I was feeling Nairobi Hospital the same
the vaccine was safe. It was my duty extremely day.
fatigued
as a leader to give our people confi- At the hospital, I took
dence in the vaccine. I had been told
that the side effects of the jab were numerous tests,
high temperature, fever and a slight including
headache, which would disappear a malaria
antigen
in a day or two. I experienced fever, test,
headache, and very high tempera-
tures that night. I thought they blood
would disappear the following day culture,
but they didn’t. stool and
urine, an
and drowsy. I had to insist on the ultra-sound, head and lungs CT
The side-effects did not go away.
Extreme fatigue, headaches, sore cake being cut prematurely, so that I scan, and of course Covid-19. The
throat, and confusion of the mind could go and rest in my bedroom. results came out the following day, I
persisted unabated. My self-pre- On Monday, March 15, I saw a had Covid-19 pneumonia.
scribed antibiotics, Claritin and

46 | we tell the true afrikan story