Some people refer to me as strong, others say that I am a warrior and a fighter, others say am a champion, resilient. All these are names given to me, so I don’t know if they are compliments or critics. However I take them all knowing that I am all these things that people call me. Wait a minute, what is the real name that I commonly use? My name is Sharon Aluoch, am from Kenya, Africa. The year I was writing this piece I was about 26. Well, what can I say? My life hasn’t been that easy, it hasn’t always been a walk in the park. Let’s walk through my life together. Stick around till the end and you will know more about me and what it has taken for me to get where I am today.
I had meningitis at the age of 9 months which left me with paralysis on my right side of the body. Meningitis is a brain infection that can cause severe damage to one’s spinal cord. Two years later, a house help fell me down and never told my mum about it. I grew up having mouth twitches but I could never figure out how come I was having such episodes. However the year 2010, April, I had two attacks at midnight in two different nights. My parents thought it was a demonic possession and such stuff had to be taken to the pastor so that they can pray for me. This is because every time I went to the hospital, I was always told that nothing was wrong with me and we could go back home.however, I remember in the mid-morning of August 27th 2010 as it was just yesterday. I was doing my grade eight exams called here in Kenya as MOCK EXAMS. These are special examinations given to test how prepared one is for the final examinations called here in Kenya as Kenya Certificate of Primary Education. (KCPE). It was about 11 am when I started having a kind of a heart pain. I immediately told our invigilator that I wasn’t feeling well. I then fell unconscious and couldn’t remember what happened. When I woke up, I found myself in the back seat of a private car being rushed to the hospital. It took those nurses a couple of hours to attend to me when we arrived there. During that period of time, I was having attacks. I was finally attended to after waiting for 5 hours. When I arrived to the doctor, I was sent to do a CT scan which would then determine what was happening to me. That day I was diagnosed with epilepsy. This is a neurological condition that makes a person prone to seizures or convulsions. This would mean that I would be taking antiepileptic drugs for the rest of my life. I was diagnosed with this condition when I was 14.
Since then I have learnt to be strong for myself. I went through a lot of hardships like bullying. This is because I was always in a normal school and never in a special school for the disabled.I have experienced stigma even from my family members; I mean all the people around me are normal. Why would they want and need to understand my situation? I have had people in my life who never wanted to be my friends just because I was on disability, I was been called names just because of my disability. The saddest part is having an invisible condition that whenever you are sick, people think you are lying or pretending. That has been my life, even when I say am fine, sometimes deep down somewhere I know that I am not fine, I still stay strong because I know that everything that I have gone through in life was worth it because I am stronger and stronger each day. I have completed my studies and I am now pursing Counseling Psychology and I am also advocating for people living with epilepsy.
As I wind up, I don’t know who is reading this or who wants to hear this but I just want to tell you whoever you are; things will get better in time. Don’t give up, darling! Remember that you are not alone and you are too strong to quit. Everything you are going through right now will be worth it. People may have said you wouldn’t make it but I know you can prove them wrong. However bad the situation is, remember that you got a friend in me and we are in this together. Normal people won’t understand what you are going through but imagine I do. Whenever you are stuck you can count on me.
Follow me on facebook as Sharon Aluoch or instagram as aluoch.sharon and I will be there for you.
You are too strong to quit. Remember, if you overcame it before, you will overcome it again. I believe in you.
Keep fighting till the end because you were born a fighter. Remember, once a warrior always a warrior
THE END