LAWYER PATIENT SHARES 14-YR DIALYSIS JOURNEY

MBABANE - Kidneys perform a critical function in the body and need extra care!

These sentiments were made by patients undergoing dialysis treatment at the Mbabane Government Hospital, yesterday. As the country joins the world in commemorating the World Kidney Day, this reporter visited the Mbabane Government Hospital, where some patients who were already on dialysis shared their journey with kidney failure condition.

Ntobeko Mamba, a lawyer by profession, who works under the Attorney General’s (AG) Office, is among 298 patients in the country who are currently on dialysis. Mamba is also the Chairperson of Eswatini Chronic Kidney Disease Foundation. Narrating his journey, Mamba stated that he discovered the condition about 14 years ago, while still a student at the University of Eswatini.

Classes

He said life was very tough from the onset, as he was unable to attend classes. According to Mamba, he would go to the hospital for dialysis twice a week. This, he said, was very difficult because on Monday he had to plug on to the machine and be in class on Tuesday, while the body was still weak and not able to cope. On Wednesday, he had to go on the machine again. Mamba said learning was almost impossible but with God, through the support which he was given by his lecturers, he managed to graduate.

“Once you start the process of dialysis, there is nothing that you are able to do normally, like any other person.”
He said patients on dialysis needed support in everything they did, to the extent that if there was no help available, life became difficult.

Graduating

Mamba said after graduating at the university, he was employed at the AG’s Office. “When I started working, I could walk without any aid but due to the disease which takes stages, today I am on crutches and have to be constantly on and off work.” He said this had been happening for the past two years, adding that the Office of the AG was supportive through the journey. Mamba said it was unfortunate that others in the same predicament lost their jobs as companies did not understand the situation, especially because a person would be absent for a minimum of three days.

However, he said some companies and institutions were very supportive, such that once a person was placed on dialysis, they changed their roles, including taking up jobs that were physical. He appealed to other companies to be patient with people on dialysis and give them responsibilities that would not require physical strength. According to Mamba, companies that decide to send home employees who were no longer physically fit, due to kidney failure, were sending them to their early grave. Already, he said patients undergoing dialysis were stressed by the process.  
Sipho Fakudze, on the other hand, has been on dialysis for the past 10 years. Fakudze stated that he was lucky to be out of employment when he started the journey.

He said juggling work and dialysis was very hard. According to Fakudze, it was better for persons on dialysis to perform light responsibilities if still employed, which did not require the brains to be overworked. “People on dialysis need plenty of rest and not to be stressed.” He said the support network at home was very critical from the moment someone was diagnosed with the condition.

Preparing

Fakudze said there was a lot of work required, including preparing the family member for the dialysis process and maintaining a good diet, among other things. “There is a need to monitor someone on dialysis, to ascertain whether they are taking the correct treatment and following the right diet.” He said once the diet was not followed, patients were likely not survive.

Also, he mentioned that people on dialysis were not supposed to take a lot of water but only a fraction (English cup).
Nontsikelelo Magagula, aged 29, stated that she started the dialysis journey about three years ago, in 2019. Magagula stated that it had not been an easy journey, following that she slept along the hospital corridors for close to three days in a week.

Treatment

She said due to the fact that the country had only three major hospitals providing the dialysis treatment; the Mbabane Government, Hlatikhulu Government and the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) hospitals, she had been forced to travel to Mbabane from Nkomanzi. Such travelling, she said, was costly and draining because resources were scarce.
Magagula said at first they had to tear up cardboard boxes and sleep on them because they did not have mats or mattresses.

She said they now slept on mattresses donated by an anonymous donor. Still, she said they had to fend for themselves, as the hospital did not provide any food. Magagula pleaded with government to bring the dialysis treatment closer to the people in health facilities regionally. This, she said, would remove the burden from them to have to spend money for transport and food as they would manage to sleep at their homes after every procedure.  

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