I am a seamstress, and I am fighting NCDs, what about you?
“I used to feel this excruciating pain around my neck. It hurt so badly that I could barely turn my neck normally to look at something behind or beside me”. Irene throwbacks. Irene is a 32 years old mother with 5 kids. Irene is a stylist-tailor whose amazing job has attracted more costumers from far and wide. To meet the demands of her clients, Irene seats on the same spot for over 9 hours a day to either think of new designs or stich dresses. This routine exercise leaves her extremely exhausted to the point that once home she barely had time to be intentional about the kind of meal she eats as anything that could feel her stomach was welcomed. This lifestyle made her gain a lot of weight, coupled with the fact that exercise was not part of her lifestyle, it compounded to make her sick. Not able to handle the inconveniences anymore, she took time off to visit the nearest health Facility in her community.
Etougebe Baptist Hospital Yaounde, has as policy to do general health educations to its clients in the morning before the one-on-one consultations. On this faithful day, Irene’s mind was captured by the talks on non-communicable diseases. She decided to get herself checked in 2017 and learned she was at risk of hypertension” Irene’s numbers read; BP 150/110 mmHg, body weight 85kg and BMI 30.4.
NCD Health Education by the KYN site coordinator, Codelia Ndasi at the outpatient unit, Etougebe Baptist Hospital Yaounde
Irene was counselled by the NCD KYN site coordinator who encouraged her to pay keen extension to things that stresses her and try to avoid them, eat healthily and add exercise to her daily routines. “This was an eye opener to me. I realized I needed to do something if I needed to stay healthy”
Irene explained how she made fruits and water consumption a part of her daily meal plan. “I also did not miss any opportunity to trek or exercise, I am changing my lifestyle for the better and it is paying off. Irene explained. Her assertion was confirmed in October 2018, when she went back to check her numbers. Her weight had dropped to 79kg and my BP was 120/180. “I feel so relieved now, can freely turn my neck and feel no joint pains, there were cloths that I couldn’t fit in before, but now it even looks big on me, I feel lighter, more active and healthy”. She testifies
Irene now advises everyone especially those involved in sedimentary lifestyles to know their numbers and adopt healthy lifestyle as she explained using a proverb “a stich in time saves nine. We can all kick NCD if we know our state of health.”
