The mission to live a purposeful life, keeps us going, but somewhere along the way that light at the end of the tunnel dwindles and the temptation to fall off the course beckons. We get so caught up in our personal endeavors, that we take for granted our lives. Until one day the unforgettable knocks on our doors and engraves a deep memory into our beings that completely change our way of life.
How close have you come to death? For Al Kags, a serial entrepreneur in Tech, Marketing and Communication, it started with sudden weight loss and extra dry mouth despite taking water frequently, while on a family business trip in Italy. When he came back to Kenya he had plans underway to leave for the UN General Assembly in New York two days later, but when he stepped back into the office, everyone noticed how frail he was.
The man in him could not show weakness and he braced himself for a briefing with his team and a couple of meetings in the scheduled. He could not last into the afternoon and he went home. Two hours later his friends showed up and drove him to Mater hospital. He hoped that once he had checked in a doctor would examine him and give him something to put him through his trip to New York.
Together with his friends, they went to see a doctor in casualty, who was quick to his feet and personally conduct several tests which revealed that his blood pressure was alarming and the minerals in his body were too low.
“In short I was severely malnourished, I was severely dehydrated, my blood pressure was high and I had sustained ridiculously high blood sugar levels for several days or weeks and therefore I had become diabetic. They checked my hormonal levels and cortisol (the tired hormone) and adrenaline (the fight or flight one) were too high. I was diagnosed with Diabetic Ketoacidosis, a major emergency. I was also told that my body organs had gone into shock. It was straight to the High Dependency Unit of the hospital for me. I was also exhausted,” Al Kags recalled.
The Mater Hospital doctors and nurses discharged their functions well. His blood pressure was stabilized and his blood sugar monitored to check for mineral levels. He was made to sleep and fully rest in a quiet in a little room. He thought about his wife and kids, friends, his team how he had eaten badly, overworked and “under-lived”, how had stopped writing and doing poetry. But the thought of “Look, I broke my body and now I am this close to dying,” did not leave him.
His medical reports showed progressive improvement, and he is back, strong, very alive and well. Al Kags in now very energized to live more, serve and give more, eat healthily and value family and friends.
“I am going to live,” he concluded.