There was a time I had the opportunity to listen to two men.
Grown men.
The first one was about 65 years old.
He said, “I feel proud of myself and how I lived my life.”
I was just there… listening like someone who wasn’t supposed to hear but still heard everything.
He said when he was young, his mother used to tell him,
“Eat on time o. And exercise.”
He said he didn’t really understand what she meant by “eat on time.”
But the earliest he ate was 5pm.
Then fruits around 6pm.
Bed by 10pm.
He ate meat once a week. Even as he grew older, he didn’t change that.
His wife used to wonder why.
He didn’t even do any serious gym something. Just brisk walks.
Routine health checks. Nothing dramatic.
But the way he was talking… there was peace in his voice.
The kind of peace that comes from doing the right thing for a long time.
So I asked him,
“Please what’s your secret? Why is this important?”
He just smiled and said,
“Health is Wealth. Ponder on it.”
And I really did.
Another time, I went to the renal unit — just for routine checks.
I saw a man there. Not even 50.
He looked worried. The kind of worried that sits on your face and refuses to leave.
You know me, I ask questions 😅
So I went closer.
“Sir, what’s wrong?”
He said his specialist referred him there after his lab results and refused to explain anything.
He even asked if I was a nurse.
I laughed. Me? Nurse? I get that a lot though.
He showed me his labs.
High LDL.
Type 2 diabetes.
Renal function at 50.
I asked him gently how it got there.
He told me about late eating because of work.
Too much meat.
Very little fruits and vegetables.
Energy drinks.
Painkillers for stress.
No exercise.
No routine hospital visits.
If he didn’t fall sick that week, he probably wouldn’t have gone to the hospital at all.
I just stood there thinking…
Two men.
One 65 and proud.
One not even 50 and scared.
And that was when it clicked for me.
Kidney disease is not a one-day thing.
It doesn’t just wake up and attack you.
It grows quietly.
Slowly.
From habits we call normal.
The things we ignore.
The “I’m busy.”
The “It’s not serious.”
Until it becomes serious.
That day, I finally understood what the old man meant.
Health is Wealth.
Don’t wait for the last blow before you take your health seriously.
Because what feels normal today might be slowly damaging you.
Let your kidney health, be a priority to you.
My name is Hilda Addo, and I’m your kidney disease advocate.
