Own Hero

My name is Purity Waithira and this is a brief on my journey so far!

They say health is wealth and sleeping the poorest at the age of 14 was my worst nightmare. A young naive girl trying to do life and make the most out of it was pushed to fight health battles. Many are the nights I cried myself to bed and questioned God.

 I was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor, on my right cheek and that marked the beginning of a new journey where the only thing I traveled with was hope. How was I going to survive this and how soon would the nightmare go?

Maxillofacial was the treatment I was to undergo to rectify my issue and time was not on my side, it had to be done soonest to prevent it from escalating and ending up contracting a brain tumor adding to the maxilla tumor that I was battling.

My treatment commenced immediately after the diagnosis, from X-rays to biopsy and finally, a CT scan to determine the depth of the damage. On the 29th of November 2012 at the Kenyatta National Hospital in Kenya I underwent the surgery. It was successful but with it, my life wasn’t going to be the same, but at least I was a step toward the end of my nightmare.

From a feeding pipe that ran all through to my stomach to a needle drawing blood from my head was what I had to deal with on my journey to regaining my health. The first week after my operation the only difference between me and a person in a coma was that I was not on oxygen. I couldn't move, talk or see and that made my mom weak at that point fear crept in and I prayed to God to see me through it for the sake of my mom, she would not have survived it had she lost me!

The only thing that reminds me of my battle is a lost set of teeth, part of my gum, a scar, and depression on my head. The scar shows my courage and victory. I suffered from depression and my self-esteem dimmed out, I looked awful and I was not sure if I was ready to face my future that way. With time I discovered the first step to recovering is accepting self. I made up my mind to be my hero but accepted my fate and work towards the beautiful future that lay ahead.

The most fascinating thing about my health journey is that it has never sent me back to the wards, the only side effect I have to live with is severe headache once in a long time. I’m glad that cancer is a bygone, it is dead in my story. For my lost gum and set of teeth, I got a denture and the gap is hardly felt. No matter what you face in life never lose hope for with hope everything else can be found again.

I resumed school, with less distraction other than the once-in-a-while clinics. Years passed by and I did my best to achieve my dreams. I recently graduated from the Multimedia University of Kenya with a credit diploma in Journalism. I’m passionate about writing articles and scripts to fuel the change I want in the world. Hopefully, someday my work will be out there if only one can hold my hands and together we soar to the greatest heights. 

If you can’t offer one wing to fly please don’t cripple them for you have no idea what their story is like and how they made it that far, be kind to people, the world needs more of that! Today I’m healthy, out of danger, and making an impact in society. Whatever battle you’re in please hold on a little longer, your turn is coming!

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