The life of 47-year-old Mrs Ugbede took an unexpected turn when she began experiencing unusual symptoms.
Kehinde Ugbede, once a prosperous banker, was living a life filled with dreams, until a grim diagnosis shattered her world in February 2018, just two months after her wedding.
The life of 47-year-old Mrs Ugbede took an unexpected turn when she began experiencing unusual symptoms. At first, she assumed it was due to pregnancy, with hopes of starting a family. However, a visit to Kubwa General Hospital changed her life forever when the doctor said she had Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD).
Mrs Ugbede said her journey of surviving kidney disease has exposed her to the harsh reality faced by many kidney patients in Nigeria - a country where the cost of treatment is often an insurmountable burden.
Narrating her ordeal to PREMIUM TIMES, she said her search for treatment first led her to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, where she endured two months of discomfort and suffering.
She said the conditions at the hospital were very unbearable, prompting her to explore alternative options.
"I was in the same room with many other patients like those with chronic AIDs, end-stage cancer, amongst others, and I thought my end had come," she said.
"A friend of mine advised me to go to Zenith Medical & Kidney Centre at Gudu, Abuja, and I have been on treatment there for the past five years."
Dialysis struggle
Dialysis is a medical procedure that serves as a treatment to temporarily or sometimes permanently take over the function of the kidney by removing waste products, toxins, or excess electrolytes from the blood, as well as removing excess water.
A typical dialysis session will be required at least two or three times a week for 3-5 hours at a designated dialysis centre.
Mrs Ugbede said she has been undergoing dialysis three times a week for the past five years.
However, this lifesaving procedure comes at a heavy financial cost. Each session of dialysis amounts to a staggering N48,600, putting immense pressure on her already strained finances.
"I have been undergoing dialysis three times a week for the past five years and each session, I spend N48,600. I have to reduce it to twice a week because I can no longer keep up," she said.
Cry for help
Mrs Ugbede's journey has not been without its moments of hope. In 2019, her twin brother generously agreed to be her kidney donor, but her health was too unstable to proceed with the transplant.
She said her family poured their savings into improving her health, and the transplant had to be put on hold.
"The burden of this kidney disease has weighed heavily on me and my family, both emotionally and financially," she said.
She, however, said her family cannot afford to support the kidney transplant and secure post-transplant care, which requires approximately N20 million.
She said: "Any little money I see is for dialysis and I have not been able to save for the kidney transplant. About N20 million is required to carry out the kidney transplant and post-transplant care."
"Please I beg all well-meaning Nigerians to come to my aid and help me carry out the kidney transplant. Any amount will be appreciated."
Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease is a progressive condition that reduces kidney function, that is its ability to filter waste from the blood. Kidney disease often has no symptoms in its early stages and can easily go undetected in most people until it is in its advanced stages.
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In its advanced stage, an individual can develop kidney failure and require dialysis or a kidney transplant to live. At this stage, a CKD patient is said to lose 85-90 per cent of their kidney function; not enough to keep the person alive, without medical intervention.
Without the kidneys playing their vital role, substances that should otherwise be filtered, build up in the body. This makes the person severely ill.
Patients suffering from kidney diseases usually exhibit symptoms such as frequent or infrequent urination; shortness of breath, swelling in feet and ankles, muscle cramps, nausea and vomiting. Once these symptoms have been observed, there is a need for dialysis or a kidney transplant to live.
