Esther Akello

You are up to the challenge. You are equal to the task. That is why it has come to you. As a gift, so you can experience your own greatness. #Reneesense #FridayThoughts #FridayMotivation

Kenya claim the last spot in the Round of 16! 🇰🇪 #U17WWC

I’M SEXY AND I KNOW IT! 3 weeks ago, as I crossed the road to catch a bus in Berlin, I collapsed. Yeah: my body hit the hard black German tarmac. The bus approached where I lay hopelessly. I was unable to move my heavy legs. Luckily, I was with my daughter, Baraka. She tried to lift me, but my weight was impossible to carry. She waved at the bus driver. He shifted into the next lane in order to avoid hitting me. Morning walkers stopped by. They spoke to my daughter in German which continues to challenge my adult brain. A woman with a young child, gave me a bottle of water. A posh couple in an expensive vintage Mercedes Benz parked their car and walked towards us. After a few consultations, the man called an ambulance. I was embarrassed. I hate attention like that. Nah, I love a wealthy man’s attention BUT I hate attention based on pity for my weaknesses. Shortly after the phone call, 2 ambulances and a police car arrived at the same time. My blood pressure was taken. An internal medicine physician was called. A blood prick was made on my finger. A long vial of my blood was drawn. Decisions were made by the ambulance crew and my daughter. They agreed I urgently needed to go to the emergency wing because my blood pressure was dangerously high. At 190/101, I was hypertensive. I pleaded with the ambulance crew. I had plans for the day that included African lunch with my film producer’s family and a salsa dance party in the evening before catching the midnight train to my home in Bochum. I did not want to go to hospital. I sat up on my own, although my legs were still too weak to stand. The ambulance crew did not listen to me. They sat me in a wheelchair and ferried me to an ambulance. A fourth car arrived with a handsome older man who introduced himself as a doctor of internal medicine. Only he was able to decide if I was well enough to go home. I told him a threat to one of my children had triggered me earlier that morning. I also briefly explained my medical history of PTSD and a trauma response to torture as a political prisoner. Because my body can handle neither fight nor flight, my mind momentarily kills my legs whenever I am triggered by impeding danger. The doctor said he understood me, but he would decide after listening to my body’s vitals. My blood pressure was measured again. A thermometer was stuck in my armpit. I was hooked up with ten ECG eletrode points. I was ordered to rest for ten minutes. The ECG ruled out cardiac and neurological diseases. However, the doctor decided my blood pressure was too high to allow me to go home. The ambulance sirens were fired up. We raced to the emergency unit of Berlin’s Charité University of Medicine Teaching Hospital. All tests were repeated. The second blood pressure reading was better at 178/111 after 20 minutes. Tests confirmed I had neither heart nor brain disease. I was discharged after advice to report to my GP. I made a silent pledge to myself to start living healthy. And so, when I shared photos of my aqua fitness training, I did so with pride because I am now on a healthier track. I had no reservations about posting 2 photos in which I wore my swimming costume. However, I got vast comments about my ageing body, brown thighs with cellulite, loose breasts, thick hips, fat belly, old this and fat that. Many men commented on how ugly or sexually appealing my body was. A few men liked my commitment to exercise. Many women ordered me to cover up; I was ashaming them. Body-shaming comments were more than positive ones. But, those comments are nothing compared to RIP - rest in peace Stella Nyanzi. I could have died. And you would have typed RIP Stella Nyanzi. So, I’m now taking my health and age seriously. I’m loving my ageing body with all my love. Every week, I will write about living healthier state. I will post photos of my sexy peri-menopausal body in a swimming suit. Every week, you will comment whichever way you like. I do not care. I’m sexy and I know it!

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