CHRISTMAS MEMORIES: A Christmas that was or wasn't!

MERRY CHRISTMAS FAM!

It's Christmas day people!!! Are you feeling alright? Have you eaten? What did you eat? Where are you? Oya smile for me! Hey, It's Christmas my Fabulous Fam!

Well, if you want to know how my Christmas is going, yours truly is sending you this particular post all the way from Uganda! Yep! You heard me.

I decided to take a tour of Africa this festive season. So welcome aboard and enjoy the ride with me.

        THE CHRISTMAS THAT WAS AND WASN’T

Christmas isn't a season. It's a feeling." —Edna Ferber

It was the 19th of December 2019. I was so excited about what the family plan for Christmas was. We were going on an adventure, touring the Queen Elizabeth national park, seeing the beauty and vastness of the wild. The big five and later on seeing fort portal, Uganda’s city of Tourism. I had always wanted to do this. It was on my bucket list for so long but as life is, the right opportunity never came but this time I was going to do it and I was going to do it with family. I mean what gets better than that.

 I can’t even begin to explain how happy and giddy I was. I even had dreams about it. I was going to be like Augusta Van Buren, who toured the continental United States on a motorcycle with her sister in the early twentieth century and later on even joined Amelia Earhart’s Ninety-nines group of women explorers. These kind of women explorers like Augusta or Nellie Bly just inspire me and have firmly pointed out my bucket list of traveling all the 54 countries of Africa on a Ducati.

And I was starting with my country, Uganda with my family. Honestly, it couldn’t get better than that.

True to my form, I mentally pack my bags weeks before in my head. Hahaha! And physically packed my bags the morning of the journey. As I finished off packing- I hate packing, I rushed off to get dressed as I waited for the car that was to pick us so that we start the adventure. As I sat waiting, I felt a twinge. I honestly can not explain it but to those with sickle cell anaemia, they will understand. It is a weird feeling that heralds the arrival of a sickle cell crisis. I rushed to swallow painkillers but alas, it was not to be. My family wanted to cancel the trip but I implored them to go. I felt bad making them miss this. We had all been excited about it so it was with sadness that I waved goodbye to my family on the journey that I should have been on as I was taken to the clinic.


 In my mind, I thought it would just be a day at the clinic, then I’d come home and relax with friends. But if anything could go worse, it did. The pain increased and the doctors said that I had to be admitted. There was no way around it. So off to International Hospital, I went. Reaching there, the pain had increased to levels that when I think back, I can burst into tears just because of the memory. I was then rushed to ICU and there I stayed for four days.

 To say the least, I was not happy. AT ALL!! I was supposed to be sipping a cup of Hot chocolate around a fireplace in the wilds and yet here I was on a hospital bed. And this was the Christmas season. The first four days were in excruciating pain. I couldn’t take it anymore so I called my doctor and told him to put me in a coma and when the pain passes, he wakes me up. Man, these doctors have heard things. He just patted my hand and said, “Patricia, you are going to be fine.” I did not feel him because all the top painkillers were not working.

 Then an angel of a nurse came up to me. He asked me what he could do for me. I was out of options. With tears in my eyes, I asked him, if he could pray for me. He helped me up and prayed for me. I kid you not but as soon as I said Amen, I felt the pain reduce and I was able to fall asleep. Something I hadn’t been able to do for the past four days. The pain reduced so drastically that I was shifted the next day from ICU to a private room in the inpatient ward. The family came back that day and my mum simply carried her traveling bags from the adventure to the hospital. It was Christmas Eve.

Christmas morning rolls in and the hospital hands out gifts to all the patients. As a patient, believe me, we were touched. People think it’s the big things that matter but really I have come to learn it is the simple things that matter- the caring of my doctor who holds my hand and smiles when I am making unrealistic demands, a nurse who took time off to pray for a patient, another nurse who comes by just to talk and give me lugambo aka gossip. My family who moved the Christmas dinner to the hospital so that I could be part of it.

 

I don't want a lot for Christmas

There is just one thing I need

And I don't care about the presents

Underneath the Christmas tree

I just want you for my own

More than you could ever know

Make my wish come true

All I want for Christmas is you, yeah

All I want for Christmas ~Mariah Carey

 

My Christmas 2019 did not go according to plan. In fact, it was wwwaaayyyy off the game plan but I can honestly tell you that it was one of my best and worst Christmas. Yes, it was a two in one. Worst- I didn’t get to travel as I wanted and I was in the hospital. Best- My family and the medics of International Hospital who made me realize that life is so much more. In the end, all we want is to know that we are loved and I got that in so many ways and I can only be grateful. And that’s who I am. This is Me!

 

So over to you, as this Christmas rolls in, after the year that was 2020, The year that may have been so bad or maybe not-There is always something to be grateful for. So what and who are you grateful for?


Patricia Opio is a multi-passionate Creative Purposepreneur, Designer, Storyteller, and Life Coach with a mission to inspire and empower people and brands to embrace their stories to unlock their creative potential to design their authentic, purpose-driven brands. I am also the Founder and Creative Director of This is Me!, a digital platform that takes on the role of bringing my mission to life. I love color and all things creative! Well, This is me!



Welcome back from Uganda!

I hope you enjoyed this amazing story of a health crisis on Christmas day. Just imagine being rushed to the hospital after you have made plans to flex on Christmas day. If you didn’t have any reason to be happy this Christmas, I bet you do now.

Remember our #31daysofgratitude is still on.

Stay tuned for more tales of Christmas coming up shortly. Guess what country we’ll be visiting next. Drop your answer in the comment section.

Did you miss our Zimbabwe trip? Read it up here

Merry Christmas my Darling Tory Lovers!

Loads of kisses to y’all!











Comments

  1. Wow wow wow, what a Christmas experience!
    Thank you for reminding us to be grateful always. Good to read from you, Patricia.

    ToryTeller, I never chop o

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for stopping by.
      Dear Seme Gold, food done ready since na.
      Abeg come chop before e go cold.
      Merry Christmas Darling!

      Delete

Post a Comment