A vacuum created but the “heart beat” still goes on.

A VACUUM CREATED BUT THE "HEART BEAT" STILL GOES ON

It was early 2012 that our family was hit with a life changing event that we did not know how to deal with at that particular time. Our late dad was diagnosed with end stage kidney disease (ESKD) at the age of 70 years. This was a turning point in our lives as children plus our mum. Life was never the same again.
Our late loving dad had been battling with high blood pressure for some years with questionable medication adherence. Few months prior to the diagnosis of ESKD, he had had several hospital visits with unclear diagnoses. On learning about this overwhelming new diagnosis, we took it upon ourselves to seek appropriate medical therapy for him until one of the consultants informed us that he would need a kidney transplant.

In my country, all, if not, most of the medical therapy is out of pocket, which meant that we had to do whatever possible to raise funds for his medical therapy. The diagnosis of ESKD did not only put a tale on the finances as a family, but brought psychological and emotional stress. The fear of living without our late dad when he passes on, was not something we could bear with. It’s been close to 8.5years since he died, we are learning to cope with his absence. We are forever grateful for all the support given to us as a family during that time.

Till now, I wish my family and I knew about preventive therapy that we would have used before any complications set in. I wish we knew the implications of seeking medical attention early and medical adherence to avert such complications. I wish we had funds to have him get a kidney transplant overseas. I wish at that time, our country was performing kidney transplants, may be the cost would have been friendly. I wish, there was health insurance for all, maybe he would still be alive. Such questions still linger in my mind.

If I can mention, I am in the health care field. With our dad’s death, I have taken it upon myself to educate people about life style modifications, routine medical check ups and seeking early medical attention when unwell and the importance of medical adherence.

Our mum is hypertensive and has other comorbidities, but I am happy to say, that she is very adherent, she gets to do her annual checkups and seek medical attention early when unwell. She is very health. This is a lesson learnt and being passed on to different people.

To save a life, let your heart beat tell that story in your life.

The death our dad created a vacuum but his “heart beat still goes on” through many people whose lives have been impacted when we reach out to them.
Justine B Namukasa, Uganda
29th July 2025