People said the pain was all in my head

Gladys Maina at her house in Donholm Estate, Nairobi. She is suffering from chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia. [Boniface Okendo/Standard]

Gladys Maina’s life changed when she delivered her first baby. She developed pains that she nursed for 19 years before she could finally be diagnosed and put on the right treatment.  

My tribulations started in early 2000 just after I delivered my first daughter through C Section at Kenyatta National Hospital. I was in a lot of pain even as nurses wheeled me out of the operation room. My body was very stiff. I begged to be given painkillers but the nurses declined, saying that they had already given me strong painkillers. I could barely hold my daughter.