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When War Broke Out: The First Battle with GBS :Chapter 1

When War Broke Out: The First Battle with GBS There is war in my body. Reading Sun Tzu’s   The Art of War   takes you to military strategy school. I’m no expert in warfare, but it’s common sense that war means fighting an opponent — whether it’s guerrilla tactics or any other form of combat. Wikipedia defines war as “a state of armed conflict between societies, generally marked by extreme aggression, destruction, and mortality, involving regular or irregular military forces.” Total war even extends beyond legitimate military targets, causing massive civilian suffering. For my story, I loosely define war as a battle between two opposing sides. I had never longed to simply walk until I woke up on August 27, 2017, with heavy legs and pins and needles under my feet. Suddenly, my legs refused to respond to basic functions — lifting, walking, bending — as if they had betrayed me. Moving became a mission; lifting my legs, walking around, doing basic chores felt like climbing a mount...

The new global reality

Reality is the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them. The advent of the year 2020 was so promising, everyone was looking forward to it with the vigour and enthusiasm of a man with an uncontrollable penis. A lot of people the world over were talking of twenty plenty signifying that they were looking forward to the bountiful year 2020. In late 2019 Wuhan City in China was struck with coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The world then thought the virus was a Chinese problem to an extent that even the most developed nations were hit with the virus unplanned. There are many conspiracy theories as to how the coronavirus came into existence. The American President has accused the Chinese government of making the virus in the lab and disputed their version of the virus has come from the wet market or bats. In his book In the eyes of darkness (1981) written more than 35 years ago, Dean Koontz foresaw the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak....

How i survived GBS syndrome

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The New Global Reality after COVID-19

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Surviving GBS syndrome: Chapter 6

THERE IS WAR IN MY BODY: Chapter 6 Qué será será Que sera sera is Spanish and translated it means what will be, will be. It is used to convey a fatalistic recognition that future events are out of the speaker's control. In life, there are so many things we don't have control over and the biblical destiny is one of them. GBS syndrome is like HIV, it can't be treated, and it is also like lightning it rarely strikes twice at the same place. There is always a potential for a relapse, The condition can be reversed and it takes a lot of effort, endurance, prayer, faith and a lot of perseverance. Recovery is largely dependent on an individual's attitude, eating appropriate protein diet, belief in God and lots of exercises. Exercises became part of me and I religiously exercised daily. Exercises is never an easy thing that is why so many people don't like it and as a result, most people are  obese world over. As bad as my situation was, I was able to type on my ...

Surviving GBS syndrome:Chapter 5

THERE IS WAR IN MY BODY: Chapter 5 THE RISE OF THE PHOENIX In Greek and Egyptian mythology a phoenix is a mythical large bird with supernatural powers to come back to life after death. It symbolizes death and resurrection, it is believed that after living for more than 100 years it burns into ashes and then rises again to a new life. So I viewed myself, in that light after my GBS syndrome experience. The experience was like going to hell and back. It wasn't for the faint-hearted, I realised then that, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. My condition deteriorated rapidly in my first few days in the hospital, I came limping and was walking with a stick, and to not able to walk at all. After two days in the hospital, I lost the ability to stand unaided, walk, visit the bathroom, even with a walking frame, My hands didn't have power and strength, my palms were tingling and didn't have strength too. My hands struggled to open closed containers. I couldn't li...

Surviving GBS syndrome: Chapter 4

THERE IS WAR IN MY BODY: Chapter 4 THE ROAD TO RECOVERY The night nurse sister budged in the ward at 4 am as usual and brought my warm bathing water as usual. It took me about 10 mins to finish bathing then I sat at the chair next to the bed whilst they were making my bed. This was a daily routine with these night nurses but they are very sweet though. I walked with my walking frame to the far end of the corridor where a gym bike was domiciled. It was around 4:45 am I spend about 20 mins there cycling, this was a daily improvement. The meter wasn't reading but I just cycled. I then left the bike then headed back to my Ward which was about 80 metres away. I returned to the bike at 11 am for my second gym session. This time I counted the cycles as I was cycling. In total, I managed to do 550 cycles. This was a great achievement for me. In other circles, they would have popped a bottle of champagne. Later in the evening after visiting hour had closed I went back to the bike aga...

Chapter 3: Held Hostage in My Own Body

THERE IS WAR IN MY BODY: Chapter 3 TESTS AND MORE TESTS After the ECG test the doctor told me that I had a BIG heart, and I said to her oh yes doctor I know, and that's true I have a very big heart and ladies always tell me that. She initially didn't pick the humour but after it sank in she laughed hysterically like a toddler. There were only two of us behind the curtains. I couldn't stop her hysteria and I didn't know either which button to press to stop her. I am sure people outside were wondering what was taking place behind closed curtains. I offered her my apologies for cracking her ribs and I blamed my big heart for that. She told me I was cute and that I was able to take away the job stresses and strains. She then told me that more tests needed to be done. After pulling the curtains off she instructed me to go back to my seat then she left. I mumbled the words thank you, but I doubt if she even heard me. I laid on the bed for less than a minute after she w...

When War Raged On: The Hospital Battle Begins:Chapter 2

When War Raged On: The Hospital Battle Begins On August 28, 2017, Dr. M’s surgery opened at 10 am, and though I slept fairly well despite my mobility struggles, I wasn’t in a hurry to get there. That day, I walked with the help of a stick. When I arrived, the doctor called me in as soon as he finished with his previous patient. As usual, he was upbeat and full of energy — a kind of motivation I wished many organizations could borrow. We chatted briefly about how I was feeling. He performed a physical examination and then took my blood pressure. I silently prayed as the numbers appeared. Then he sighed deeply, looked me in the eye, and said, “Perseverance, your blood pressure is 187/124. That’s dangerously high. It’s no longer your choice not to go to the hospital. I’ll have to admit you to Helen Joseph.” With the sternness of an upset headmaster, he wrote a referral letter, carefully folded it, and placed it in an envelope. Then he asked if he could call an ambulance. I hesitated but d...

Marketing means business

--> Marketing world over is a concept and or philosophy which most firms fail to understand, learn, implement & take advantage of. This results in marketing being confused with Selling &Advertising. Both selling & advertising are a tip of marketing iceberg. According to Albert W Emery Marketing is merely a civilized form of a warfare in which most of the battles are won with words, ideas & disciplined thinking. Chartered institute of marketing, defined, marketing as the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating & satisfying customer requirements profitably. The long run survival of all organizations are dependent on the customers & or clients, this is the reason why most organizations exists. So this calls for market orientation to be adopted if an organization is serious about its going concern. This means that organizations must channel resources to client satisfaction, value creation to clients, organizational learning &ma...