CNF #126 : Bittersweet slide.

”Madam, you have been scheduled for surgery next Friday. This is to commence your dialysis. Get the necessary funds sorted and ready. That will be all Ma take care”. These were the words of Doctor Dosu, my mother's Nephrologist.

---

Mum had been sick for a while. At first family members prescribed the use of herbs as a remedy for her but her health wasn't recovering. I took a stand in advising a better treatment plan.

”Mum, we are going to the hospital. This herbal concoction is not improving your health at all. Let's go run some tests and know what we are dealing with”I said to her one cool evening. ”Alright dear, I agree with you”.

Early the next day, we left the house to the Lagos State Teaching Hospital located at Ilasa. This hospital was a government owned hospital popularly referred to as LUTH. On arrival, we paid for a patient card at the reception and took tally numbers. The numbers would be called periodically to avoid crowding or cheating.

Mum and I took a seat as I looked at the number she had picked. It read number 9. I was glad because that meant we wouldn't have to spend the whole day waiting to be attended to. The number calling began and soon it was mum's turn. We were told to go in and see the doctor.

”Good morning sir” We greeted the Doctor on call.

”Good morning, how can I help you both?”

”Well doctor, my mum has been sick for a while now. We used herbs to make a concoction for her as treatment but she is still the same health wise. We are here to get professional help”, I replied to his question.

He took out time to ask mum some questions, patiently writing down her answers. He then wrote what I could only refer to as a medical jargon on paper. He asked me to take my mum to run some tests and return with it.

We did as told and returned with the test results after some hours. The doctor looked at the test results before asking my mum to lie down on a single bed beside his table, so that he could carry out some physical examination on her.

After a brief period, he asked my mum to resume her seat and began to give his diagnosis.

”Madam, from the test results and the physical examination carried out, it is clear that your kidneys are failing. I would recommend you to Doctor Dosu, a reputable Nephrologist in this hospital. He will be in charge of your treatment moving forward”

”Sir, what do you mean by kidney failure and how do you think it came about cos as far as I know, my mum is not into alcohol. So how come Doctor?” I asked him desperately in need of an answer.

”You are right. Alcohol can lead to kidney failure but so can excessive use of highly chemicalized cosmetics and heavy salt and calcium consumption” he replied to me.

I was speechless and shocked at the same time but because we had to leave and go in search of Doctor Dosu, I quickly quieted my storming brain cells and assisted my mum in leaving his office. After a few inquiries, we were shown to Dr. Dosu's office right at the end of the renal department and because mum had a recommendation, we were attended to immediately.

Doctor Dosu was a good Nephrologist. He highlighted the signs of kidney failure just by looking at my mum, even before he looked at her test results. After all said and done, a dialysis was the best option to help my mum's kidneys as toxins were already mixed in her blood. A date was scheduled for her arteriovenous surgery and from there, it was dialysis straight away (this led to the opening statement above)

Doctor Dosu's prognosis was that the dialysis session would last for four weekly sessions before her kidneys t pick up and begin normal functioning again. That was music to my ears. I relayed the information to the rest of the family and we all put heads and hands together in raising the necessary funds. As at then (2013), a session of dialysis cost three hundred and fifty thousand naira(#350,000).

On the scheduled date for the dialysis mum was prepped up and wheeled into the ward. The dialysis took six hours after which mum was wheeled to a general ward for further observations. Twenty-four hours later, she was cleared to go home and I was there to assist her all the way.

Subsequent dialysis was carried out weekly and by the fourth one, we all hoped that mum's health would be much better and improved. I was optimistic that with the supplements and the new diet plan that mum was placed on, her recovery would be good. Doctor Dosu advised a no salt or seasoning diet and also no milk and sugar too. As we made our way home in a taxi, I made a mental note to stick to the diet plan for mum.

---

Two months later

---

Becky!... Becky!....come quickly, mum fainted”. That was my younger brother calling for me while I was at the backyard washing clothes. I quickly left what I was doing and ran to my mum. We laid her on the bed while I tried to reach my dad. His phone line wasn't connecting and so I had to take mum to the hospital myself. I gave my brother some instructions before leaving with mum in a taxi.

Time was of the essence, so I quickly rushed her to a nearby private owned hospital rather than take her back to LUTH.

”Nurse!......Doctor! Please help. My mum is down!” I shouted immediately as the taxi came to a halt in front of the hospital. A stretcher was brought out and mum was laid gently on it. A nurse gave me a form to fill out, which I did while they wheeled her in for treatment. Thirty minutes later, a nurse came to inform me that the attending doctor would like to see me in his office.

”Good afternoon sir. You wanted to speak with me?” I said as I entered his office.

”Yes Miss. It pertains to your mum's health condition. Could you brief me on your mum's state of health in the last six months?” I nodded and told him all that had occurred as per mum's health condition.

After listening to all that I said, Doctor Luke, as I got to know later, explained to me that sometimes a prognosis usually might not result in the expected outcome. He further said that mum's kidneys had relapsed and that she would have to be on constant dialysis henceforth.

”But doctor, she was fine after the fourth dialysis session. We stuck to the new diet plan and gave her the prescribed supplements as well. Why is her health sliding backwards now after two months of improvement?” I asked while sobbing.

Doctor Luke could only sympathize with me but he still asked me to get my mum scheduled for a dialysis soon. Breaking that piece of news to the rest of my family was devastating for me but it was a necessity as we all wanted mum to be okay. The dialysis sessions continued but after the twelfth session, mum kicked the bucket and left her beloved family forever.

It was a bittersweet time for my family. One part of us was glad she would not be in so much pain due to her failing health while the other part of us wished she would still be alive and be with us. Mum died in October 2013. She was finally laid to mother Earth in December 2013.

---

Thank you for reading to the end.

---

Images used generated with Meta Ai.