“I am not trying to start a pity party or anything like that. I just want to shed more light on an aspect of life that a lot of people don’t get to experience or even have an idea of.
My diagnosis didn’t come as a shock to me. I’ve always been that sick child, an ill teenager, and finally, now as an adult, I have a diagnosis. The only issue was that I got my diagnosis abroad, in Russia and I think it has affected the disease progression both positively and adversely.
I’ve had to make some really tough decisions and adjust my living conditions just to accommodate this chronic illness. This has taught me to be sensitive, helpful, and kind, because people are going through different issues that are well hidden from the world.
Just in case you’re reading this and you’re going through the same thing, I see you and understand your plight.
The first and biggest issue was deciding whether to stay back in Russia or go home when I received the diagnosis. It might sound weird, but I was seriously considering going back home. I had tons of reasons to return, but gradually it became clear that staying back was the best decision.
The Language Barrier
It is one thing to know your diagnosis. It is another thing to properly understand what your doctor is saying without feeling lost after a few sentences. My Russian is quite good, but when it comes to understanding medical jargon, I always seem to get lost.
I still have to tell my doctors to explain things gradually and slowly to fully understand what they are trying to say. Don’t even get me started on reading all the documents and understanding what exactly it is I am signing or not signing.
Restrictions with Food
You’d agree with me that Russian cuisine is not particularly palatable to foreigners. Now, imagine having restrictions on your diet as an African in Russia. I have a list of African foods I can no longer enjoy, and it’s a quiet, constant frustration.
Money
I usually avoid summing up the bills from my treatments because the one time I tried it, I was depressed for close to three days. The sheer realization that I was going to be spending that amount regularly was so overwhelming. Treating an illness requires money, and it makes me appreciate all those years I didn’t have this burden.
Better Facilities
I have been listing the downsides to treating a chronic disease abroad, but despite this, I am grateful for the quality of care and attention to detail I have gotten from health professionals during this period. The facilities, follow-up, and response time have been great. There have been a few hiccups, but nothing too serious. Trust me, when you are being treated by a system that works, it eases the burden significantly.
Lack of Support
This is a heavy one. When you’re sick, you instinctively want your family. You want your mother’s cooking or just to be able to complain to your siblings. Being abroad means navigating this mostly alone.
My friends here are wonderful, but it’s different. They have their own lives, and there’s a limit to how much you can lean on people without feeling like a burden.
The time difference also makes calling home difficult. You can’t just pick up the phone and cry to your best friend when it’s 3 AM for them. This kind of loneliness is a different layer of the illness, one that medicine can’t touch.
Working Remote
If there’s one silver lining in all this, it’s been the ability to work remotely. I honestly don’t know how I would cope if I had to commute and be in an office every day, especially on my bad days.
Working from home gives me the flexibility to manage my symptoms, attend doctor’s appointments without a fuss, and rest when I desperately need to.
It’s one of the crucial adjustments I mentioned, and it has been a lifesaver, allowing me to keep earning an income while prioritizing my health. It’s a privilege I don’t take for granted.
Living with a chronic illness is a journey, but doing it in a foreign country is a challenge on a completely different level. But it also builds a strange kind of strength, at least for me. I have learnt to become my own strongest advocate,nurse, and translator.
To anyone else out there fighting a similar battle, whether at home or abroad, I understand you and wish you the very best.”
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