A gardening injury led to my paralysis

Margaret Achola, 60, has been bed ridden for 20 years since she lost strength to leave her bed or do anything for herself at her Kisian home in Kisumu County in a picture taken on January 7,2020. [Denish Ochieng/ Standard]

What began as a mild back pain 20 years ago has confined Margaret Achola in bed for the past 15 years. She has been lying anxious with faint hope that someday, she’ll stand strong and get back to simple tasks that gave her joy like gardening.

Her agony started in 1993 with some mild back pain she felt while weeding her garden. Three years later, she was bedridden. And it was only four years later that she was diagnosed with paralysis of the spine at Kisumu County Hospital. By then, the damage had been done. Her legs were no longer functional.