Health Focus is a serialization of stories on the effect of Health issues on a family and individual. While many take health for granted, the lack of it can lead to an enormous cost for a family. Often the cost is not just financial but emotional as well. How do we deal with what can be an unexpected event? How do we prepare? The lessons are to be learnt in the accounts of those who have so graciously let us in their lives and the experts in the industry.

Ng’endo Machua is a 24 year old brand strategist. She is the last born in a family of 4 siblings and she has been taking care of her mother since her health started failing.
Ng’endo’s mother is 70 years old, and has faced a number of health problems. She has severe arthritis; she has kidney problems and has suffered two strokes. She has also had her right leg amputated twice.

Her problems began in 2000, when she had knee replacement surgery due to arthritis. Luckily, it was sponsored by American doctors, so her family did not feel the financial strain. Later on, in 2002, she had ankle replacement surgery, yet again as a result of the arthritis. This set Ng’endo and her family back KES. 120,000. Ng’endo and her siblings pulled together to raise the money.

In 2008, Ng’endo’s mother had her leg amputated because of gangrene. At this time, Ng’endo was out of the country, as were the rest of her siblings. This cost KES. 150,000. Unfortunately, the wound opened and the leg got infected, leading to a second amputation. This cost the family KES. 80,000. Fortunately, though, it was final.

In January 2010, she suffered a stroke due to hypertension, but she completely recovered from it. A year later, in January 2011, she suffered a second stroke, which was more severe than the first one.

Impact

Ng’endo and her family have shouldered the impact of their mother’s illness, financial and otherwise. No health insurance firm is willing to insure her mother due to her age and her health. As a result, they have resorted to paying NHIF contributions so as to cater for her health needs. The contribution is KES. 160 a month, and they have made these contributions 10 times in the past year. There is a possibility that the contribution could be increased to Sh. 320 within the year.

Her mother also sees the doctor once a month because of kidney problems. This costs them KES 2,000 a visit. The medicine she takes costs them anything from KES 5,000 to KES 10,000 a month.

After her stroke, she began suffering from dementia, which is a loss of cognitive ability of a previously healthy person, over and above what might be expected from normal aging. Her ankle surgery was also not successful, leading to frequent pain due to friction in the ankle replacement. Due to the dementia and pain in her ankle, she often wakes up screaming, and has no recollection of it when asked. This has led to her seeing a psychiatrist every month, which costs her family KES 2,000 per visit.

Since Ng’endo has a fulltime job and the rest of her siblings are out of the country, they have to pay for 2 nurses and a helper to give their mother round the clock care. This costs them KES 80,000 a month.

Ng’endo is no longer able to save, because she puts most of her money into catering for her mother’s health. In as much as her siblings also contribute to these expenses, they sometimes feel that they may be giving too much, or that one sibling may be doing less than another for their mother’s health. This occasionally leads to tension in the family.

Ng’endo is also faced with emotional stress, because in as much as her siblings contribute money towards taking care of their mother, they are all outside the country, and it is Ng’endo that stays with her mother. They both do their best to maintain a positive attitude, but at times all these issues weigh the both of them down. Her mother recently lost one of her best friends, and this has dampened her disposition as she feels like she is alone and that she may be next. However, they are still doing their best to remain positive.

What she would have done differently

Looking back, there are a few things Ng’endo wishes they could have handled differently. When her mother began suffering from arthritis, she did acupuncture instead of going to see a doctor. No one thought the problem was too serious. In retrospect, however, many of the problems she has faced may have been avoided had they been detected earlier on by a doctor.

Secondly, she wishes they had been able to get their mother health insurance. However, back in 2000, health insurance was extremely expensive and few people could afford it.

Lessons learnt

Ng’endo offered valuable advice over what she has learnt from her experience. Firstly, she urges us not to look as money as a reason not to help their parents. This is because if something happens to them later on, one tends to look back and feel guilty for not doing as much as they could have earlier on, and it is hard for this guilt to wear off. This is why she stopped saving and she puts as much as she can into taking care of her mother.

Secondly, she would advise that we do not rely on our siblings alone for money and support, because at times, they may not be able to give any. One should ask extended family and friends, and ensure that they know what one is going through so that they can help in any way they may be able to. Ng’endo’s friends and her workmates have seen her through a lot; they have been there for her this whole time. At one point she was unable to go to work for a month, but her boss and her workmates understood.

She also suggests that if we can insure our parents early, we should do it, because once they are older, health insurance firms get reluctant to insure them because of the risk they pose. She adds that NHIF has been a great help to her and her family as it does not discriminate against her mother’s age and condition, and she would urge that we make those contributions as they may turn out helpful in future.

Lastly, she calls for teamwork between families and maintaining a positive attitude. Health expenses and care for our loved ones should be handled as a team; for example, she and her siblings have conference calls each week to offer each other support and find out how their mother is doing and whether she needs anything. The affected person’s loved ones should also help him/her maintain a positive attitude, as it definitely makes it a bit easier to take care of him/her. Her mother has also remained very positive in all of this, and this has definitely eased the burden on her children.

NB

After this interview Ng'endo discovered that her mother would need another operation that would cost the family KES 485,000 She is involved in an effort to raise money for the operation. Read about it and how to help out here

About the author

Brenda Wambui is a soon to be graduate from Strathmore University, with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Marketing. In her spare time, she masquerades as an Accountant, and is about to complete her ACCA qualification. She is interested in all things Internet, especially social media management and research. She has a healthy appreciation for humour and the unusual, is a sports enthusiast (watches almost all sports but prefers to play none), a philanthropist and a change agent, and she defies almost all laws (except the law of gravity). Follow her musings at mizzbree.wordpress.com and tweets via @brendawambui