FED UP!

(...continued...)

In his office, Dr Obinna asked them to sit. He brought out the xray film.

  “You got them by yourself?” Mabel asked him.

  “Yes I went there myself. At least we can have an idea with the results that are ready.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  “So what is wrong with me?” Cynthia asked, still worried.

  “It is nothing to panic about.”

                He looked at the xray very well.

  “Your chest is clear. There appears to be nothing wrong with your back either.”

                He dropped the x-ray.

  “Thank God,” Mabel said.

  “So why am I having the pain?”

  “I saw something from the urinalysis.”

                Cynthia’s heart skipped.

  “What?”

  “Infection. And I think it has found its way into your kidney.”

  “O God!” Mabel exclaimed.

  “Is it kidney failure?” Cynthia asked, teary.

  “Far from that. Remember you said you experience some other symptoms like itching and so on.”

  “Yes from time to time.”

  “And you have never taken antibiotics?”

  “It has been more than six months I took one last.”

                Dr Obinna shook his head.

  “So what do we do?” Mabel asked.

  “You will have to give another urine sample so they will culture it for growth of the bacteria doing this.”

  “Can we do it now?”

  “Yes please, before they close. Let me call them to hold on for few minutes.”

                He called the lab and they said they were closing. He asked them to hold on for few minutes. They were reluctant but later agreed.

  “Please hurry,” He said to Mabel and Cynthia. “Also collect the remaining test result when you get there.”

  “Ok.”

                Mabel and Cynthia left in a hurry for the lab. Margret saw how briskly they walked and ran after them.

  “What is the problem?” she asked when she caught up with them.

  “He went her to run another test,” Mabel told her.

  “What is going on?”

  “My sister, I don’t know o.”

  “What is he saying?”

  “We don’t understand what he is saying yet.”

                They got to the lab and met a lab attendant. He filled the form for Cynthia and she went in and produced another urine specimen. They collected the remaining test result and left the lab. As they walked back, tears flowed down Cynthia’s cheek.

  “Why are you crying?” Mabel asked her.

  “So I now have kidney problem,” she replied.

  “Is that what the doctor said?” Margret asked.

  “It is just an infection.”

  “It is not something serious then. He will tell you what to do.”

                Margret put her arm round Cynthia’s neck and told her not to worry, that she would be fine. When they got to the Dr Obinna’s office, Mabel and Cynthia went in.

  “Let me wait for you in my car,” Margret said. “So I don’t lose my tyres.”

  “Ok.”

“So is that what is causing the back ache?”

  “Not entirely.”

  “What else again?”

  “The pain from the kidney section is mild and not enough to cause such pain. The pain is muscular cum nerve oriented/originated.”

  “O God! Is that another sickness?”

  “No. Do you carry heavy things?”

  “Chuka is quite heavy. Do you carry him?”

  “Mabel please stop. I just carry the normal things in the house.”

  “What is your sitting and lying posture like?”

  “She sits anyhow o.” Mabel said. “She does not observe posture at all.”

  “That is the cause of the back ache. It is good we ran these tests. We wouldn’t have known that there was a silent killer at work.”

  “So what do we do now?”

                Dr Obinna looked out of the window for a while, in thought.

  “What about your boyfriend?” he asked Cynthia.

  “Boyfriend kwa.”

  “We need to know where this infection is coming from.”

  “I broke up with him long time ago. He was cheating on me.”

  “What about Chuka?” Mabel asked. “Is there something going on?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Are you sure you are not seeing someone else now?” Dr Obinna asked.

  “No one. I am in my finals. I need to concentrate.”

                He shook his head.

(...to be continued...)

-Chinedu Isaac