The Biblical Bartimeus had to vehemently defy his relatives and friends’ orders to remain silent about his illness and not disturb Jesus. Bartimeus’ refused to be silenced by healthy relatives and his insistent and persistent voice finally reached Jesus’ ear and he was saved from imminent death then.
Had Bartimeus listened to those discouraging him from attracting Jesus’s attention he would have died then. I don’t know why so many people fear talking freely about issues to do with their health mostly at their own peril.
Most times we visit homes where very ill people are locked or chained up in secure places far from where nosy visitors can see them. One’s personal physical, mental spiritual health is one’s personal responsibility and it’s up to the affected person to try and attract help in whatever way possible after all we all have one life to enjoy or endure or suffer.
A lot of people unfairly blame witches and other people for their ill health forgetting that the biggest cause of most of their illnesses is none other than themselves.
The way we manage our bodies and thoughts can be our biggest witch. A very ill and emaciated friend of mine once remarked “What’s the use of taking a healthy body into the grave when all that matters is the invisible soul which goes to heaven or hell after all.”
Many people like to be told about their good health but shun being told that their health is deteriorating leading to many people loosing their lives unnecessarily. A problem shared is a problem half solved so they say.
A lot of people suffer illness in silence fearing being known that they are ill until the disease has totally consumed them beyond salvation. We also have other people who hide their children or relative’s illnesses from relatives, neighbours and friends forgeting that if that sick person later dies there is no way they will hide the death from those same people.
There are also people who endure illnesses silently doing heavy and strenuous work and other chores as if they are healthy only to suddenly fall seriously ill or dead when they could have been helped had they opened up earlier. I have always advised people to have that deliberate and intentional willingness to live no matter how ill they are because a lot of miracles have happened and continue to happen and grave cases have been known to recover from very debilitating illnesses to enjoy good health once more. I am an example and there are a lot more all over the place, people who had been written off but are now back again enjoying excellent health with some back to their mischievous ways once again.
There is a lot of secrecy surrounding illnesses. Among the reasons for hiding the illness from people are witchcraft and shame. There is a strong belief in some families that all illnesses are a result of witchcraft hence the need to hide the sick from further damage by the perceived witches usually relatives and friends. The other reason is the shame that is associated with being ill especially from an AIDs related disease. People should learn to live humble and simple lives whether in wealth or poverty because pride and arrogance while healthy will make one hide one’s bad moments such as illnesses. While we can hide our ill relatives from the public there is no way we can hide their deaths.
Our health is very fragile and unpredictable and illnesses can attack anyone at anytime. Some people are so secretive about their ill health allowing diseases to silently consume them to a point where they just fall down and suddenly die. I have been very ill in the past and everybody who came to see me never thought I would live to see the sun again but through openness here I am telling my story some over 30 years later. My openness made me get help in the form of herbs locally and information about the best and cheapest local hospitals to go to .When I got to the hospital I told the nurses and doctors the truth about how I felt and ended up getting the right diagnosis. Some people give wrong information to hospital staff leading to wrong diagnosis. Reminds me of a friend suffering from a terrible STI back in the late 80s who out of shame lied to the nurse that he was suffering from malaria and would have been given wrong treatment had I not rushed to tell the nurse his correct disease.
Those of us living with HIV have been told that it is our right to disclose or not to disclose our status and a lot of us think it’s very good to keep our status secret. I feel the secrecy surrounding issues to do with HIV has caused more harm than good and anyone telling you that it’s your right to keep silent about your HIV+ status doesn’t like you. A lot of people have died as result of defaulting, shame, self blame leading to suicides. Let’s learn to be open about our health and live healthy lives. Let’s not always blame witches whenever we are ill.I think if heaven and hell are really there a lot of people shall be shocked when they die and find out that all those people they thought were bewitching them were not witches after all.
In my article next I shall be looking at the Perils faced by celebrities as they grapple with the realities of being HIV+.
Piason Maringwa
+263774322043
