Hospital Weekend. #WE181

In my excited mood, I decided to spend the weekend with my favourite aunt and her little kids of about 12 years and 15 years old, a boy and a girl sometime in 2018.

Her husband was late, so she had been a single mother for over seven years, however, she is very industrious and made sure her kids never lacked in any way she made me respect her so much.

Occasionally, I visit her with some foodstuff and other items to support her the best way I can but that particular weekend was different.

I arrived at her home by 4 pm that Friday evening and met her looking so gloomy unlike the hyperactive woman I used to visit and then I was worried for a moment.

"Are you okay?" I curiously asked because I had never seen her like that before. "Yes, I am fine, just weak and unhappy." That's exactly the response she gave me which made me more worried.

"Why is she unhappy?" I soliloquized, however, I went into the kitchen to make her something to eat and decided to cheer her up with my stories of all that happened on my way to her house until she fell asleep.

Around 2 am, I heard a knock on my door, it was(my cousin) her baby girl of 12 years who was crying and banging on my door, "Aunty please come, my mom was shaking seriously in her room."

I jumped up from the bed and ran to her room, alas, she was truly shaking, I quickly turned off the fan and wore her a sweatshirt and socks praying nothing bad happened until dawn.

Her feet were so cold and her eyes were so pale, I was too scared to the bone and didn't know the first treatment to give her, she complained of being very weak and I could barely hear what she said.

As soon as it was 6 am, I called my mom and explained to her that I was asked to take her to the nearest hospital in the neighbourhood, little did I know that's where I would be spending my weekend.

When we got to the hospital, the doctor ran a series of tests on her, urine test, blood test, sugar test, malaria and typhoid test and another test I can't remember.

She was admitted immediately and given some injections and drip when the doctor called me into his office that my aunt was diabetic.

He made a new list of food for her to eat and the ones to avoid and prescribed drugs for us which were quite expensive.

I ran a helter-skelter to gather the money for the drugs as it was a matter of life and death, I felt so exhausted that weekend, not just exhausted but emotionally drained as I kept praying and hoping nothing bad happened to her.

I went to her home by noon to prepare another kind of dish for her, as she could no longer reach the regular meal and when I came back to the hospital, I found her jerking on the bed, I was too afraid that I called out to the nurses on duty, which they came and attended to her by injecting her with some drugs.

For the first time in my life, I had to buy an adult diaper which she wore throughout her stay in the hospital, as she was too weak to get up to use the toilet, it was not a pleasant experience at all, I think she was traumatized by it as she cried every time I change her diapers for her, she kept asking "for how long will I keep wearing this?"

It's funny how life can suddenly take a turn and keep us handicapped with what we have little or no control over.

The Doctor advised us to get our own Glucometer and sphygmomanometer, as it was quite expensive to check the blood sugar and blood pressure every day at the hospital, $1.5 per check.

It was the worst weekend I've ever experienced, I became a mother automatically, catering for her kids and caregiver too, catering for her at the same time, I think the caregiver is the one who is even sick because it affects your whole mood, your productivity and everything.

The responsibilities of a caregiver are heavy, and the routine of daily tasks can be exhausting, but the love for my aunt made it all easy to bear, I was intentional with my every gesture of care, as I know it helps healing to take place faster than I can imagine, so it's a journey not for the faint-hearted ones but of patience, resilience, empathy and endless sacrifice.

I bathed in the hospital, and could hardly eat as I lost appetite, seeing many sick people around me, especially my aunt, I only managed to eat junk and kept hoping she would make it out alive, I took a walk around the hospital as the flowers were the only thing that made me smile throughout my stay in the hospital.

I was traumatized too, for I kept thinking of her children and how things might turn out although I was very hopeful.

Thankfully after two weeks, she was discharged from the hospital and by then our family had bought the glucometer and sphygmomanometer and the nurses had taught me how to use them to check her blood sugar and blood pressure.

It was a lesson that anything can happen to anyone at any time and from that moment, I was intentional about my lifestyle and diet, it all begins with the lifestyle we choose while we are younger and the diet as well, after somfailednths, I bought another set of glucometer and a sphygmomanometer for my household.

I never failed to check my blood sugar every six months ever since that experience, and I advise anyone around me never to neglect their health as health is wealth.

I made a constant effort to eat healthily, exercise and live a healthy lifestyle and even taught her kids to do the same.

Although my aunt is still on drugs, she has been stable ever since then, and I am glad I visited that weekend, what might have happened if I never visited? Well, nobody knows.

This is my response to this weekend's prompt by @galenkp