When was the last time I went for a medical checkup? It was in the middle of last year, and I won’t lie, it’s not something I’m proud of. I know I didn’t go there by choice, I went there because I was sick and tired of falling sick. I think I made a post about it during that period of my life.
It was back when I was still at the peak of my final year runs. Preparing for exams, projects, running assignments and still having to deal with work, bills and all that. I had so much on my plate during that period and it was taking a huge toll on me. I started falling sick. Almost every month I fell ill with malaria. I treated it and it returned the next month. I treated it again and it returned yet another month later.
It was by the third time I realized that I couldn’t keep doing that. The last thing I wanted was for my body to develop a tolerance to malaria drugs. So, instead of treating it, I went to the clinic for a full body checkup. It cost me almost 20k, but it was worth it. They told me that it was really malaria, but one of the very stubborn ones, and drugs were not enough to take care of it completely. I had to take injections and drugs before the damn disease left my system.
And once that happened, I felt like a new person. It gave me the strength I needed to scale through my last days as a student. If not, things would have been really terrible for me during my exams and project defense. And it was so thorough that to date, I’ve still not had any case of malaria. So, it was all good! However, as I said at the start of this post, that was the last time I went for a checkup. What about before that? Well, that’s where it begins to get hazy.
Before I returned to school for my HND certificate a few years back, I made a promise to myself to always go for medical checkups at least once or twice a year. I did it shortly before I left Lagos for Owerri to continue my education, hoping that I’ll be able to see my promise through to the end. However, that wasn’t how it panned out at all. Once school resumed and the amount of bills I had to pay began to pile up, I was forced to postpone the checkups, I kept pushing it and pushing it until years passed and I eventually did it last year.
Funny enough, it wasn’t that expensive. The lab close to my school seemed to be working with the administration of my school and a full body checkup could be gotten for as low as 10k then. They soon increased it to 12k. And then followed a series of increments that eventually led to it being well over 19k for a full body checkup. And that was just last year. I don’t know how much it would cost now.
And also, that was in the school, now that I’m in Lagos, I’ll have to resume that. I don’t have an excuse as to why I won’t be able to do it this time around. I’ll go to a private clinic or lab because of immediate response and fast delivery, but I also know that it’s going to be expensive as hell. However, it’s something I’m looking forward to trying. That is one habit that I have to get back and that’s what I’ll do, no matter what.
Having periodic medical checks is really good. It gives you a heads-up and lets you know on time if there is something wrong with your body so that you can treat it before it escalates. That’s why it’s so important. We can’t always be prepared for everything, least of all when it comes to our health. However, this way, we get a semblance of control over what we allow to fester in our bodies.
