I woke up finding it difficult to get out of bed that morning, and my left leg was aching so badly that I thought for a second if something had happened while I was sleeping.
Since I don't sleep with lights on, I grabbed my phone immediately and turned on the flashlight to check my leg.
"What could even have happened to me in my bedroom?" I thought while putting the light away after checking my legs.
"I probably didn't get enough sleep," I muttered, dragging myself out of bed.
It was just past five in the morning, and the thought of sleeping for a few minutes more crossed my mind.
"What if I wake up late? I will have my salary deduction for not attending training." I thought about it and decided to stretch for some minutes, hoping the ache in my leg would vanish.
I had barely squatted for a minute when I felt a sharp pain in my thigh. It was so painful that I lost my balance in reaction to the pain.
I stood from the floor and sat on the bed, thinking about what could have been the cause of the pain.
"Could it be the minor bike accidents I had some days ago?" I asked myself.
"No, it can't be. I applied balm, took pain relief, and moreover, I didn't feel any pain some minutes after the fall."
I couldn't pin the pain on the incident, so I just applied balm to it and waited for a miracle while I did my morning devotion.
Before I knew it, it was six, and I had to start preparing for work immediately. I left room, and with every step I took within the house, I felt a sharp pain in my thigh. I managed to prepare myself and set out for work at half past six.
I felt the pain as I trekked from my house to the bus stop, and for the first time, I had to take a bike to the bus stop because I couldn't endure the pain. The journey to the office wasn't a good one, as I was in pain all through the trip until I sat comfortably at the office.
"Are you alright, George? You seem to be moving with discomfort," a colleague asked as we stepped out of training later that morning.
"It's just a minor thing," I replied, wearing a smile forcefully to hide my pain.
"Go check it out at the hospital before closing," he advised before heading for his supervision duties.
"Hospital? It mustn't get to that," I stuttered after stopping to ease the pain for some seconds.
I went home that day and rested as much as I could do. I repeated the rest routine on Sunday with hope of feeling better, but my leg condition only got worse as I could barely move the leg for 10 seconds without stopping to ease the pain.
On Monday morning, I got out of bed as usual and prepared for work. I hated the fact that I had to take bike to the bus stop again that morning, but there was nothing I could do. Upon arriving at the garage, I waited patiently for a bus while changing my leg posture almost every minute to ease the pain.
Thief! thief!! Thief!!! I had noise coming from somewhere at the bus stop, and people started running. As the noise got closer, I wanted to move away from where I was, but my leg failed me.
I had to hop on one leg, which wasn't easy, and I barely left the spot before the crowd chasing the thief ran past me. I recalled that moment severally and admitted the bitter truth of going to the hospital.
I got a bus, arrived at work, and went to the company hospital after signing in. I did some tests, and when the results came, the nurse who ran the test kept staring at me.
"Sorry, I was not supposed to say this until you see the doctor, but your blood pressure is too high and it's dangerous." The nurse finally spoke to me while I was waiting for the doctor.
"Blood pressure? Thank you, ma," I replied and quickly went online to check for the symptoms.
I had barely read anything helpful before the doctor called me in.
"You seem to have stressed your body more than you should, and it's affecting not just your leg but blood pressure as well," the doctor said to me.
"What's the way forward, sir? I need to work, and that's impossible if I am in this state," I replied.
The doctor prescribed some drugs and also gave me a belt to hold my left muscle thigh together which truly eased the pain.
I requested for some time off at work because of my medication, but the HR turned it down after claiming to have consulted the doctor, who said there was no need for a time off.
The pain was minimal as I walked around that day, and immediately I removed the belts at home at night. The pain I felt in my thigh tripled.
It hurts so much that I cried, and the next morning, I managed to visit the hospital again. I explained my condition, and the doctor's response hurts more than the pain in my left leg.
"I can't further the assessment on your leg because your HMO won't cover the bills. Just continue using the belt," he replied.
I returned to the office and tried convincing HR into looking at my case, but he felt unconcerned. It took me some days before I could visit my hospital where a process test was carried out on my leg.
"Mr. George, your BP is too high, and your leg isn't a mere case. You have an issue with muscles in your thigh, and I don't even expect you to be going to work in this condition." My doctor broke the news to me.
"I didn't know it was that bad and even was given a belt for treatment," I got the belt from my bag and showed the doctor.
"This would only help tighten the muscle so that you won't feel much pain when walking but it wouldn't take care of the problem. Sincerely, you are not taking your health seriously and it's not a good thing," my doctor replied, and I was lost in thought, reflecting on my health for a few minutes.
In the past few months, I have pushed myself so badly to grind out results at work, neglecting my health. Every discussion I had with the doctor was a wake-up call for me, and for the first time, I thought about the fact that if anything happened to me, the company wouldn't stop operating.
I took time off work for treatment and even had to secretly work from home after my leave was over until my leg was back in good shape. The experience was a huge turn around for my health as I placed priorities on it afterwards. I was able to create a balance between work and health even to date.
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