When Mrs Obi’s husband started complaining about constant headaches, she didn’t think much of it. He was still going about his normal routine, so there was no reason to believe anything serious was wrong.
Then one day, he developed a fever, and it all went south.
Mrs Obi shares with us what happened that day and what the experience taught her about taking even simple symptoms seriously.
Can you tell us what happened that day?
‘My husband had been complaining about headaches for a while, but we didn’t really see it as anything. Sometimes he would just take Panadol and go about his day. Then one day, he developed a fever and had to take a break to rest. When it was time for lunch, I went to wake him up, and that was when I noticed that something was wrong.
He wasn’t responding normally. I would ask him something, and he would say something completely different. Sometimes what he was saying didn’t even make sense. He also couldn’t stand properly by himself. That was when I became really worried because this wasn’t normal for him at all’.
What did you do when you realised something was wrong?
‘We took him to a private hospital close to our house because we wanted him to see a doctor as quickly as possible.
When we got there, the doctor came to speak with him and asked him some questions. While the doctor was talking to him, he noticed that my husband wasn’t responding normally. It was like he wasn’t fully conscious of what was happening. The doctor then told us that they couldn’t handle the case and that we needed to take him somewhere else. He advised us to take him to a general hospital that could handle the situation.
I was scared because I thought we had already taken him to the hospital, so they would treat him there. I didn’t expect them to tell us to go somewhere else’.
What happened when you got to the general hospital?
‘When we arrived, they attended to him and checked his blood pressure. They immediately said it was an emergency because his blood pressure was very high. They gave him a bed and started treating him. He was put on a drip while they worked on stabilising him.
After they had stabilised him, the doctor came to speak with me and explained what was happening. They told me his blood pressure was very high, his blood sugar was also high, and they said he had typhoid.
I was surprised because we didn’t know that his blood pressure or blood sugar was that high. We knew about the headaches, but we never imagined that things had gotten to that point’.
How did things change after he was treated?
‘We stayed in the hospital for some days, while they continued treating and monitoring him. After some time, he became more responsive and started doing things by himself again.
It was a big relief’.
How were you able to manage his health after being discharged? Did you have to make some lifestyle changes?
‘Yes, we did. When we got to the hospital, his blood sugar was around 280 mg/dL, and his blood pressure was about 180/110 mmHg. We were really worried because those numbers were much higher than they should be.
After he was discharged, we became more intentional about his health. We cut down a lot on sugar, especially sugary drinks, and he started eating more vegetables. He also takes his medication as prescribed, and we check his blood pressure and blood sugar regularly.
He is much better now. His blood sugar is usually around 100–120 mg/dL, and his blood pressure is now around 125/80 mmHg, depending on the day.
We still monitor him often because we don’t want to become relaxed about it again. Before this happened, we didn’t really check these things because he looked fine. Now, we know that looking fine doesn’t always mean everything inside the body is fine’.
What would you want people to learn from what happened to your husband?
‘I would tell people not to ignore symptoms just because they seem ordinary. The headaches seemed like a normal thing, so we didn’t really pay much attention to them. We thought it would pass.
For me, the biggest lesson was that you shouldn’t always wait until something becomes an emergency before taking it seriously. If I hadn’t gone to check on my husband when I did, I wouldn’t have realised that something was seriously wrong with him. He could have just kept sleeping, and we may not have known how bad things had become until it was too late.
That experience really taught me to pay more attention, even when something seems small. Sometimes, you just have to trust that feeling that something isn’t right and get the person checked’.
From the Desk of Koyo Doctors
It is clinically advised to know your numbers. Checking your blood pressure and blood sugar from time to time can help you notice when something is off.
And please, be careful with self-medication. That drug that worked for you last time may not be what you need this time; taking the wrong medication can sometimes make things worse.
Please remember, you don’t have to wait until you are seriously ill before paying attention to your health. Take the small signs seriously, check your vitals, and when something doesn’t feel right, don’t hesitate to speak with a doctor.
