Health is the Greatest Blessing

On the afternoon of last Saturday as I was playing the piano in my room, I felt a stomach upset that made me instantly know that I was going to have diarrhea. But when I went to the toilet, I relieved myself normally, which made me wonder what that upset in my stomach could be for.

Come Saturday night, I again felt an upset in my stomach while I lay in bed, waiting for sleep to come. And yikes! After I fell into a slumber, I woke up four or five times to visit the toilet where I had the diarrhea I knew was coming. During one toilet visit, I felt so dizzy that I almost collapsed on the floor while returning to my room.

The upset in my stomach persisted the next day (Sunday). It made me stay in bed when my phone alarm rang at 5.30am. Even though I didn't get the sniffles or lose my appetite for food, I spent most of my Sunday snug and warm in bed, feeling a bit depressed by my diarrhea and stomach upset.

When I informed my father that I was diarrheaing and feeling unwell, he advised me to drink plenty of water, which I never did since I didn't get thirsty and the weather was quite chilly. And when he offered to buy me some diarrhea medicine, I declined the offer because, as I pointed out recently, I don't like taking medicine these days.

As the Sunday wore on, I tried to recollect the meals I had eaten in the previous three days and wondered which of the meals could have caused me to have diarrhea and a stomach upset. Could it be the peas I feasted with a chapati on Friday evening? Or could it be the chicken stew that Mum prepared for us earlier in the week? I wondered.

When it reached Sunday evening and I had to go to my hometown of Kiserian for my usual one-hour walk that keeps me in trim, I feared that I could develop the urge to have diarrhea along the way. So I asked my parents to keep me in their prayers. I also prayed for myself that my walk would be as blissful as it often is.

Fortunately for me, I completed the walk without messing myself up or feeling any upset in my stomach. I didn't develop the urge to have diarrhea till I arrived home from Kiserian. If that wasn't God answering my prayers, you tell me what it was!

Although I slept soundly on Sunday night without waking up in the middle of the night to diarrhea, I was still feeling a bit depressed on Monday morning. I therefore didn't spring out of bed when my phone alarm rang at 5.30am. And when I finally woke up at around 8.00am to take my breakfast, I didn't hop back into bed like I had done the previous day. I just vegetated on my desk most of the day.

Later on in the evening of that same Monday, I talked on phone with my kid brother Symo who plies his trade in the British island of Bermuda. After Symo promised to bring me a laptop when he jets back to Kenya this month, my spirits buoyed. His promise magically cured my depression.

In my buoyant spirits, I cleaned my room, took a shower and washed my clothes - chores I hadn't done for two days. As I did the chores while crooning some of my favorite hymns, my father noted a change in my moods and rightly guessed that I was now well. Then after I was done with the chores, I dashed to Kiserian full of verve and vitality.

Since Monday evening, I have rebounded into the disciplined and hard-working young man I resolved to be at the beginning of this year. I have been waking up at 5.30am and staying active during the day. Talk of rising after a fall as Nelson Mandela put it in one of his most famous quotes.

Depressing though the diarrhea and stomach upset was, the illness has once again reminded me that health is indeed the greatest blessing. Lying in bed or sitting on a chair without developing the urge to diarrhea is such a great blessing that we take for granted. So is visiting the toilet at a convenient time and relieving ourselves normally.

It is now Thursday morning as I pen this story. Having fully recovered from the diarrhea and stomach upset that depressed me for two days, I have vowed to always thank God when I am healthy. And should I feel bitter, guilty, worried or jealous, I will remind myself of the good health I possess. Not an unwise thing for you to do as well, my beloved reader!

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RECOMMENDATION: If you've enjoyed the above story on health being the greatest blessing, you might also enjoy another one on "What a Recent Illness Taught Me" which I wrote last year. Just click on that link in blue to dive straight into the story.