Afya Watch
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Cancer
    • Life
    • Featured
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Mental Health
    • News
    • Public Health
    • Guest Blog
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Video
  • HOME
  • MENTAL HEALTH
  • LIFESTYLE
Afya Watch Afya Watch
Afya Watch Afya Watch
  • Home
  • Categories
    • Cancer
    • Life
    • Featured
    • Health
    • Lifestyle
    • Mental Health
    • News
    • Public Health
    • Guest Blog
  • Editor’s Pick
  • Video

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE: Who cursed your diet?

My aunt had just taken a turn at the famous GPO stage when she started losing her vision; it was blurry. Her mind was dizzying out. It was happening so fast. She tried to get a place to hold on but it was too late. It was her back that hit the hard tarmac first.

She landed on it like a log of wood. A man dressed in a blue slim-fit suit picked up her handbag and made off at a terrible speed. One or two people walked closer to have a look at what had transpired, but after a few minutes, most of them grinned and left. It was on the 27th December 2018; around 10 am.

After some time, a Taxify driver called John Njoroge stopped and helped her into the back of his car and sped off towards Nairobi Hospital. Since she had lost everything, her registration in the hospital poised another challenge. Njoroge, who has since remained one of the closest members of our family took upon himself to help her. He drove his hand into his pocket and paid for her immediate medical checkup.

He was the only connection she had with us…

My uncle had almost run mad when Oliver never showed up that night, the second day…. even for 6 days. He shared his phone number to anyone who stopped to listen to his story. Some conmen took the opportunity to extract money from my uncle by claiming that they had hijacked her.

He walked through all police stations in his determined effort to look for her. He had even risked and visited morgues. When he received a call from Njoroge, he was holding his phone into the ear while bending to have a better glimpse of the face of a corpse in Kenyatta National Hospital.

My aunt lay in bed confused as Njoroge explained the whole story to us. It was not shocking to realize that she had been diagnosed with High Blood pressure.

I must admit that my aunt was unblushingly attached to food; what the millennials call chunk food. Her fried chicken came in halves. She was used to smearing her foods with different types of sauce. Her breakfast could be incomplete without beef or chips. If you risked and served her for two days without supplementing her food with chicken or fish, you could have easily passed as her greatest enemy. She had replaced “tasteless water” with highly caffeinated drinks. She weighed 93kgs.

“She had a heart attack” Doctor James Ochieng informed us,” she is lucky to be alive! ”

My aunt had ignored all the signs that her body was generally not in the best condition. Once or twice in a week, she had experienced shortness of breath and chest pain. Her body weight was also growing at an alarming state.

The doctor prescribed physiotherapy and handed her a few drugs although he insisted that her condition needed strict management as opposed to taking a concoction of drugs. There were drastic changes needed to be taken to help my aunt manage her condition.

The doctor decided that a change of diet was to top the list. He distinctly warned her against smoking and drinking alcohol. When alcohol was mentioned, she meekly raised her eyes to the doctor as if to beg him for an alternative. He sighed and simply said,

“If you want to continue living, you must change your lifestyle.”

When she left the hospital, she came straight to our home and stayed with us for 3 weeks. It was one of the worst periods of her life. She craved cigarettes. She cried and begged. She wanted beef and chicken to supplement her salt-less vegetables that “refused” to go down her throat. She chose to go hungry. She managed to convince herself for about 5 hours but quickly changed her mind and ate. It was a step.

She learned to enjoy fruits and so, we ensured that she had plenty. And she started walking…sometimes jogging albeit for 10 minutes. High blood pressure had nothing on her determination.

When she lost 12 kgs, her will sparked of positivity. She was determined. She was going to live a fulfilled life.

If my aunt could do this, I know, anyone can. There are interventions now available for those who need them. All you need to do is to go to your nearest health facility and seek help. Do not wait until high blood pressure leads to a heart attack like my aunt. Do not wait until you need medication. It starts with you.

Share
Share
Tweet
Share
Share
Related Topics
  • Care
  • food
  • Heart attack
  • High blood pressure
  • Nutrition
Morris Makabe

Morris is an International left wing journalist with an unblushing touch in writing.

Previous Article

I POISONED MYSELF WITH CHICKEN

Read Post
Next Article

I Accidentally Ate Mouldy Bread

Read Post
You May Also Like
Image of antibiotics
Read Post
  • Health
  • Public Health

Vaccines and Smart Prescribing: Strategy to Tackle Antibiotic Overuse in Children

  • February 8, 2025
Asili Jattani, a Community Health Promoter based In Korbesa, Cherab Ward, Merti Sub-County, Isiolo County. She has to cover long distances to serve the 41 households in her assignment area. The Community Health Workers Bill passed in Parliament on November 22, 2024 will significantly improve the welfare of CHPs across the country once it goes through the Senate and receives presidential assent to become a law. Photo by Lameck Ododo.
Read Post
  • Health
  • Public Health

Landmark Bill Passed to Empower Community Health Workers

  • December 15, 2024
Snuff.
Read Post
  • Cancer
  • Health
  • Public Health

Kenya’s Smokeless Tobacco Crisis

  • December 12, 2024
Read Post
  • Health
  • Public Health

The Hidden Crisis in Kenya’s Healthcare Reform

  • November 15, 2024
Read Post
  • Lifestyle
  • Public Health

The Hidden Health Risks of Meat Consumption: A Look at Kenya’s Nyama Choma Culture

  • August 25, 2024
Read Post
  • Lifestyle
  • Public Health

Kenyans Struggle with Non Communicable Diseases

  • May 21, 2024
Image courtesy of the World Health Organization
Read Post
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Uncategorized

Protecting Kenya’s Youth from Novel Tobacco Products

  • March 23, 2024
Read Post
  • Lifestyle
  • Public Health

Watch Out for Smokeless Tobacco and Nicotine

  • October 10, 2022

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts
  • Image of antibiotics 1
    Vaccines and Smart Prescribing: Strategy to Tackle Antibiotic Overuse in Children
  • Asili Jattani, a Community Health Promoter based In Korbesa, Cherab Ward, Merti Sub-County, Isiolo County. She has to cover long distances to serve the 41 households in her assignment area. The Community Health Workers Bill passed in Parliament on November 22, 2024 will significantly improve the welfare of CHPs across the country once it goes through the Senate and receives presidential assent to become a law. Photo by Lameck Ododo. 2
    Landmark Bill Passed to Empower Community Health Workers
  • Snuff. 3
    Kenya’s Smokeless Tobacco Crisis
  • 4
    The Hidden Crisis in Kenya’s Healthcare Reform
  • 5
    The Hidden Health Risks of Meat Consumption: A Look at Kenya’s Nyama Choma Culture
Editors Picks
  • 1
    In Finland Even the President Goes To a Public Hospital
  • 2
    5 Reasons You Wake Up Feeling Tired Even with Enough Sleep
  • 3
    Is Sitting the New Smoking?
  • 4
    Food and the Expanding Waistline, Hallo Christmas
  • 5
    ‘It’s the Lifestyle We Have to Change’ The Prescription to Non Communicable Diseases

Subscribe

Subscribe to stay updated

Afya Watch
Engaged! Inspired! Healthy!

Input your search keywords and press Enter.