Lucas Wambua knew almost little about tuberculosis (TB), an infectious bacterial disease, prior to his 2023 diagnosis.
He remembers learning about TB from his teacher during a biology class and seeing media campaigns to raise awareness of the disease. The 24-year-old, who left school in form three because of his lowly origins, admits that he had not given the illness much thought during this time.
Lucas, who is currently receiving TB treatment, adds, “This explains why I was shocked after being diagnosed with TB in 2023; I thought I was going to die.” Prior to his diagnosis, Lucas, a resident of Kitui had relocated to Mombasa where he started a job as a fruit vendor.
Later, he advanced to a barbershop job where he would regularly engage with a variety of people. But in 2023, he began to feel ill and exhibit symptoms including exhaustion, night sweats, and general body weakness.
“After my hand swelled, I went to a neighbouring health center. My illness only deteriorated when I was taking medication,” he claims.
He would later be taken to a nearby hospital, where the doctors recommended surgery to treat his swollen hand. A few days later, the wound started to heal before he could have surgery. Lucas maintains that he decided to go back to his Kitui house to get more medication as his weight continued to drop.
Tests at Kitui County Referral Hospital showed that he had tuberculosis. Despite being put on TB treatment, Lucas’s condition kept getting worse. He had continued to lose weight during his successive hospital stays. In addition to his dry cough, exhaustion, and night sweats, he also experienced a painless swelling in his neck.
His doctor examined a pus sample from his inflamed neck for tuberculosis (TB) after two weeks of therapy, and the findings were positive. Before starting a fresh course of treatment, he also needed a blood transfusion because his blood level had fallen. Lucas remembers experiencing isolation and stigma at home due to a lack of knowledge about tuberculosis.
After his parents passed away, his aunt took on the position of guardian, but she remained and continued to accompany Lucas on his healing path. Lucas claims that taking medication on an empty stomach caused his next headache since he was unable to work.
Every day, a health professional would come to my aunt’s house to check on me and give me my medication. Lucas explains, “She would make a meal and let me eat before taking medication whenever she came to visit and saw I had nothing to eat.”
After telling her, she would return to check on me and give me new medication, but occasionally I would end up throwing up the medications after she left, he continues. I think she’s the reason I’m still here today.
Lucas is appreciative that he was included in a government program that guarantees him and other TB sufferers get a Sh9000 monthly stipend. Since he is still unemployed, he claims that the money that comes at the end of each month is utilized to purchase food and other necessities for the home.
He claims that he can eat a balanced meal every day thanks to the stipend program.
“My recuperation process has been somewhat facilitated by the fact that TB medications are also provided at no cost in public hospitals,” he says.
He now advises his fellow young people to seek medical assistance as soon as possible for early intervention rather than to be afraid to visit hospitals.
