Appreciating Good Health

Coughing, sneezing, having fever, feeling a headache and experiencing difficulty in breathing - these are the symptoms of the COVID-19 that has been the talk of the town in recent weeks. The disease, which is caused by coronavirus, attacks the respiratory system of our bodies and is easily spread through contact with infected people.

I personally started hearing of the coronavirus about a month or two ago. And I wonder where it came from or where it had been hiding all these years. It seems that the processes of evolution and mutation that I learnt in my high school Biology are still at work in our planet.

When I started hearing of the coronavirus about a month ago, I hoped it would not spread to our beloved country Kenya. And I was somewhat glad to hear a friend of mine called Jonathan Karanja comment on Facebook that the coronavirus doesn't affect black people like me. But then two weeks ago as I was taking Mum to hospital for a medical check-up, the driver who was ferrying us informed us that the coronavirus had been detected in a patient in Kenya. How unfortunate!

Several days later, I overheard some women, who had come to visit Mum at home, say in Kikuyu, "I hear the coronavirus has now reached Matasia!" (Matasia is a small town which is about fifteen kilometres from where we live.) Since then, I have been learning from government reports that the number of patients with coronavirus in Kenya has been increasing. And that has led to the closure of churches, schools, businesses and government offices as people are fearful of contracting the virus.

Now that the coronavirus has reached my beloved country, I am praying that God may spare my family, relatives and true friends from catching the virus. I am also praying that authorities all over the world will conquer the virus sooner than later, the way they conquered Ebola and SARS. You see, interceding through prayers is the only part I can play in combating the spread of the virus.

Hearing of the way people are suffering from the health complications caused by the coronavirus has sparked in me memories of the times I was seriously ill in the past. One afternoon in the mid '90s when I was in Standard Two or Three for instance, I felt very weak while walking home from school. So weak did I feel that I kept resting during the walk; it was not business as usual. I must have recovered from that terrible weakness since I can't remember missing school the following day.

Then on another day in 1999 when I was in Standard Six, I became ill when I went to school. I apprised my teachers of the way I was feeling. Luckily, the teachers sympathized with me and took me to a clinic in my hometown of Kiserian where I tested positive for malaria. I recollect vividly feeling weak and restless as well as lacking appetite for food. And as I received treatment in the clinic, I suddenly hated girls, especially one I used to admire.

News about my affliction with malaria must have spread like bushfire because a neighbour of ours called Mrs. Deya came to check on me. Thankfully, I recovered from the illness after three or four days. And on one bitingly cold morning a few weeks later when Mrs. Deya spotted me leaving home without a jacket, she quickly commanded me to go back home and wear extra clothing. She issued her commands with the authority of a parent. I had no choice but to obey her.

And then on another day in 2003 when I was in Form 2 at Starehe Boys' Centre, I had a terrible upset in the lower parts of my digestive system during a lesson before lunch. It was like my bowels wanted to burst open and release a load of semi-solid waste matter. I kept suppressing the urge to relieve myself for fear of what my classmates would think of me if I asked for permission to visit the toilet from the teacher who was tutoring us during that lesson. After what seemed like an eternity of my unspoken discomfort, the bell for lunch rang, the lesson ended and I rushed to the loo where I had diarrhoea and became well. (By the way, I don't think there has ever lived a person who has never had diarrhoea.)

Remembering those times I have been sick has made me appreciate the good health I am now blessed with. Imagine as I write this story, I am neither in pain nor experiencing any discomfort. With the worrying increase of COVID-19 patients in Kenya, I have now resolved not to take my good health for granted. From now on, I will delight in such simple but healthful activities as eating, exercising, sleeping at night and relieving myself normally. Health is indeed the greatest wealth.

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