Water is Life

There are some habits I pick up sometimes, and I don't even realize how horrible or detrimental they are to my health.

There was a habit I developed in the university that and didn't notice until it started taking a huge toll on me.
The 200-level second semester was the worst university section I have experienced so far.
The first in line for all the blame is whoever it was that crafted our timetable.

Every day, classes started by 8 am and only three days in a week did we have actual one-hour breaks. The other days were back-to-back classes till 6 pm.

At first, the beginning of the semester was not so bad, but not all lecturers kept to time. But towards the end of the semester, we had no time. They say second semesters are usually shorter and end up being rushed. But that semester was just different. Sometimes we sat from 8 am to 6 pm learning without breaks and were bombarded by the lecturers who were struggling to complete their course content.

Every day felt like hell to me. It started with these chronic headaches I got every time as the evening approached. The kind of headaches that made me buy a packet of painkillers, and even when I took the pills, it was war before I could sleep, every turn I made felt like there was a nail being twisted in my brain.

It didn't just affect me physically. It affected me academically and mentally. I could hardly understand lectures past the first period. It made me miserable, and my mind felt so drained.

Still, I was able to push through exams, and it was by God's grace that I came out unscathed. But there was a problem, I still thought drugs were going to do the trick for me.

I didn't realize I carried that same habit to 300 levels. I started having the same problems, but it only got worse. Then one day, I started noticing this sharp pain just below my rib cage, but I ignored it. I told myself it was an ulcer and it would go. One morning, my urine was colored like Coke, and that's when I got scared.

I called my mom, and she started panicking. I went to the school clinic the next day and met a young doctor. She asked me some questions and sent me to the hospital lab for lab tests and a scan. On the form she gave me, she wrote URGENT! It made me even more scared.

I got there, and the two women I met in the office told me it would take time, and it was already late. They told me to come back next, ignoring what was written by the doctor.

I was on my way back to the doctor when another doctor saw me and asked what was wrong. When I told him everything, he was furious and took me back to the lab. He queried them on how lazy they were getting, and when he was done, they took my samples, and I waited for about two hours to get the results. I took the results to the doctor, and she prescribed drugs for me: Malaria medicine and an antibiotic. She didn't tell me anything except that I should buy the drugs.

I bought the drugs, and on my way out, I met the same doctor. I updated him on the situation, and after reading the result, he asked me when I last drank and how often I drank water.

It was then that I realized how I was the one harming my health. I formed the habit of sitting in class all day without even a sip of water.

I didn't tell the doctor exactly how bad I had neglected the importance of drinking water, but he still advised me to drink a lot of water.

I immediately formed a habit of drinking water often, and gradually the pains went away, and my urine became clear.

Since I finished the Malaria dosage I haven't taken any drugs and have felt healthy without the tiredness and headaches to date.

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