I know this pain will fade away one day, says woman paralysed for 20 years – Standard Digital

Posted: Published on February 5th, 2020

This post was added by Alex Diaz-Granados

Margaret Achola, 60, who has been bedridden for the past 20 years since she lost the strength to leave her bed or do anything for herself at her Kisian home in Kisumu County in a picture taken on January 07, 2020. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

For More of This and Other Stories, Grab Your Copy of the Standard Newspaper. Subscribe Now I have explored all the medical options, but nothing has ever worked. I have tried prayer, herbal medicine, going to different experts; I spent all the money I had and yet here I am, lying in bed because nothing has worked. There is a wheelchair at the corner of my room that I got when I just started ailing, but now I cannot use it. It reminds me of how fast hope can fade. Earlier, my relatives were helpful because there was hope that I could get better, but as the years go by, they realise that I may never get better. The number of people checking up on me started reducing. I guess it is because they got tired, always finding me in the same position.Being childless, losing a husband, and then getting this terminal disease in the village has made people believe that I am bewitched. There are some friends and relatives who stopped coming because they thought associating with me could transfer the bad vibes in me to them.My condition causes so much pain, and in 2018, I was hospitalised for more than one month, but doctors had to discharge me because there was no change. Doctors suggested that I go for physiotherapy, but who will take me? Where will I get the money?Those are the questions that go through my mind all the time. I get no answer, and then I start sobbing quietly in my bed, praying for the pain to fade away, for death.Cost of treating an injuredspineThe spinal cord is about 18 inches long and extends from the base of the brain, down the middle of the back, to about the waist.Injuries to the spine that result in paralysis involve damage to the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal. They cause permanent changes in strength, sensation and other body functions below the site of the injury.Spinal cord injuries are described as complete when almost all feeling and ability to control movement are lost below the injury site.Spinal cord injury (SCI) involves damage to the nerves within the bony protection of the spinal canal. The most common cause of SCI is trauma, although damage can occur from various diseases acquired at birth or later in life, from tumors, electric shock, poisoning or loss of oxygen related to surgical or underwater mishaps.The quicker the patient obtains treatment, the better the chances for recovery from spinal injuries.Medics at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral hospital say there is stigma and rejection accompanying confinement to a wheelchair, mortality is high among resettled patients.Dr. Thadeus Massawa of Kisumu County referral hospital, says physiotherapy helps in relieving pain for people with spinal paralysis. Medics say the patients also need nutritious, protein-rich diets for spinal health, and adult diapers for basic hygiene, which they can rarely afford. Because of the poor condition. Many suffer from bedsores.The cost of doing an operation for a spinal cord injury ranges between Sh250,000 and Sh2 million. Several studies have indicated that for every 10 people screened, eight suffered from nerve tension along the upper back ranging from mild to very severe. People who constantly use computers or have a job that involves a lot of sitting are more likely to get spinal and back complications.

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I know this pain will fade away one day, says woman paralysed for 20 years - Standard Digital

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