Still smiling

It was around this time eight years ago I was diagnosed with the blood cancer Multiple Myeloma. My life has never been the same since. The first slide, with all those pills, was taken the day before I was to have the first dose of chemotherapy. I would pop them every Thursday before I got my weekly injection. I did this for six months before I went to India for my stem cell transplant. Mother India loved me and offered healing in more ways than I could have imagined.

The last eight years have seen me take to the stage, screen, broadcast, print and digital media, where I share my journey and do my bit to raise awareness of multiple myeloma. My last road race was in 2019 at the 10k at the Nairobi Marathon. This particular race was special because it was my first big road race since early 2015, and running with me were the names of the fallen, the fighters, the fragile, the faithful and the finishers. My body was ‘tattooed’ with their names. I am not a fan of the 10k, but since 2015, my running legs have not been quite the same. However, it was good to hit the asphalt once again and with a whole new different perspective.

These last eight years have shown me the many faces and languages of kindness. It is love, strength, humility, and healing. Kindness is self-love and is best shared in silence.

From remission to relapse and back to remission, I’ve had to rethink and rejig how to engage with love, life, sickness, health and myself. Growth and healing have come in the most unlikely of ways.

I’m still here, and I don’t take that for granted. I’ve been given a new voice and eyes to journey through life’s many seasons. I vowed to be an active patient, refusing to be a passenger as I was poked and prodded. I became numb to the numerous syringes that pierced my presence. My body has been taken through the wringer, but that is a story for another day. However, I have learnt that if you look after your body, it will look at you.

Eight years on, I’m grateful that I’m still smiling.