Makori: Surgery has nothing on me, I will soon jog again

Dr James Gakuo, a well-built and bubbly medic in green scrubs, lifted my right arm and said, “Let us pray”.

 The anaesthesiologist’s short prayer was the last thing I remember. I had been wheeled into theatre and was surrounded by a team led by consultant spine and orthopaedic surgeon Dr Moses Kimani.

 Several hours later, I woke up in a stupor in the recovery room wearing a neck brace and a catheter stuck to my manhood to pass urine.

 Saturday, June 21 this year was the culmination of my journey in search of treatment lasting six months.

The problem started simply. I felt something like an electric shock coursing through my arms whenever I lifted them. A little later, my hands and feet began to grow numb.

 I could no longer jog or enjoy long walks because my feet were weak and felt heavy. Shortly, I developed tightness around my abdomen.

Two hospitals I visited diagnosed the problem as peripheral neuropathy.  After a battery of tests and physical examination, the doctors concluded something was wrong with my nerves. But the medications they prescribed didn’t help.

 Within a few months, I lost fine motor skills. I struggled to button up, write with a pen, tie my shoelaces, type on the computer keyboard, lift a cup of tea or eat with my hands or using a spoon.

 In February, I saw Dr Alex Mogere, a physician at AAR Sarit Centre Hospital, Nairobi, who told me I suffered from spinal compression. Some discs on my spine were pressing on nerves, causing the weakness, numbness and loss of sensitivity I experienced. He recommended magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to show exactly where the problem was. I took the MRI days later and returned to Dr Mogere with the images.

 The problem was clear. I had severe spinal stenosis or cervical compression (on the back of the neck). He explained that the problem was caused by injury or natural wear and tear of the spinal discs. I had never suffered spinal injury. Dr Mogere recommended that I see an orthopaedic surgeon.

 The doctor I saw confirmed the diagnosis and proposed two courses of treatment to decompress my spine. First, I would undergo several sessions of physiotherapy to try to realign the affected spinal discs and relieve the pressure on the nerves. But if that did not work, the next option would be surgery. I recoiled. Since my circumcision decades ago, I had never undergone any other form of surgery.

 I began physiotherapy sessions at AAR Sarit Centre but only experienced temporary relief. I was increasingly losing strength, stability and balance. I lost weight as well, mostly because of worry. Not once I dreamt I was on the road jogging. One day as I walked into Lion Place building, where the Star newsroom is located, I couldn’t take the low steps at the entrance. I fell on my hands. Two guards rushed over and helped to get to my feet.

 But the worst was yet to come. On the morning of May 13, I lost balance while in my bedroom and staggered backwards. I hit the back of my head on a wall and fell. Blood gushed from a cut on the head. My wife had gone to work. I called out for the house help and our guard and a neighbour lifted me up, walked me down the stairs into the car and I was rushed to hospital. Luckily, the injury was not serious. I was treated and discharged.

 I worked from home for a few weeks as I recovered. Alone and quite stressed about my illness, I began to accept that surgery was the only option. I have enjoyed good health and never suffered a serious illness.

 Throughout my working life, it was the first time I was away from work on sick leave. I tried to minimise the seriousness of my condition by telling my young children the problem would clear soon.

 But I was worried by my inability to do simple tasks and the thoughts of surgery. When my younger brother visited me and saw how I struggled to walk, he wept.

 I read widely on the Internet and watched videos on spinal stenosis. That was how I came to learn about a surgical procedure known as cervical laminectomy, before any doctor talked to me about it. Basically, it involves removal of portions of the affected discs and some tissue to create space in the spinal canal for the pressed nerves.

 I visited one hospital, where the doctor confirmed the diagnosis and I was booked for surgery. But while waiting for a date, I gathered disturbing reports of botched surgeries that had left patients confined to wheelchairs. I balked. I wasn’t going to take the risk.

For the second time, I tried physiotherapy, trying to avoid surgery. But, again, the sessions did not help. One more time I headed to AAR Sarit Centre Hospital to consult an orthopaedic specialist. Dr Juliet Thitai listened keenly, examined me and studied the MRI images I carried.

 “You need surgery, and fast, because the longer you delay the longer it will take for the pressed nerves to recover even after surgery,” she said. “There is also the risk of complications as the spinal compression worsens, such as loss of ability to control bowel movement and your bladder.”

 Dr Thitai recommended that I immediately see a specialist to arrange surgery. She rang up Dr Moses Kimani, briefed him about my case and then gave me his telephone number and the location of his clinic. On Saturday, June 14, my wife and I sat before Dr Kimani. He repeated all I had been told about what the MRI images showed. He explained what the surgery would involve, showed us some photos of procedures he had done and answered all our questions. Thereafter, we headed to Coptic Hospital on Ngong Road and booked for surgery.

It would be my first ever admission to hospital. I wasn’t afraid. The constant encouragement of my family, friends and colleagues at the Star gave me strength. All the doctors I had visited told me surgery always carries risks. My own research confirmed this.  But I was ready.

 Coptic Hospital estimated the cost of surgery at Sh690,000. We applied to SHA and they immediately pre-authorised a portion of the cost. Jubilee Insurance, which covers the Star staff, confirmed they will cover the rest of the cost. I breathed easy.

 Coptic Hospital turned out to be more than a medical facility. It was a place for true healing. Everyone I encountered treated me with kindness and professionalism. “Don’t worry, we are here for you to ensure everything goes well,” one doctor told me as I waited to be wheeled into the theatre. Dr Gakuo, the ever-jovial anaesthesiologist, always came over to assure me all would be well.

 After the surgery, the nurses promptly attended to me with warm smiles. I enjoyed the quiet in my private room 523, the food and visits from family and friends. The neck hurt, especially at night, and walking around with the catheter was quite a task. Doctors Kimani and Gakuo visited, telling me I would soon walk and use my hands normally.

 I was in hospital for five days. In those days I lost all my lingering childhood fear of hospital as a place of isolated suffering and death. On the morning of the last day, I wrote a message to myself that I will always remember, “I wish everyone who falls ill experiences the healing I have enjoyed here at Coptic Hospital in these five days: living in a serene environment surrounded by competent and compassionate professionals - from the ‘soja’ at the gate to the surgeon in the theatre; from dedicated and quick admission staff at the reception who took my calls at the first ring and helped with the paperwork, to the techies running the tests; from warm, genuine nurses with a truly healing touch (Winnie, Mary, Stella, Caroline, Nancy, Mike) to smiling kitchen staff and kind cleaners. I've never in my life said thank you so many times in a single day to everyone I encountered.”

 Two weeks after I was discharged, I returned to the Subs desk at the Star. And exactly four weeks after the surgery, I hit my target of walking 10,000 steps a day.

 The numbness is reducing and my strength and balance are steadily returning. I can walk up the stairs unaided. I am back to my usual weight. Soon, I will be jogging on my favourite routes and lifting weights. And then I will go to Kiserian to pick the biggest goat in the market for doctors Kimani and Gakuo.