We got to Zenith Medical & Kidney Centre at 6:50am, and already, the place was beginning to fill up. Thankfully, we were early enough for my father to get connected to a dialysis machine before 7:30am. My mother and I found a parking space in the shade and tried to make ourselves comfortable. It was going to be a four hour wait, but before it was over, there would be a kilometre long line of cars; snaking from the gate of the Medical Centre, all the way to the junction.
Finally, when he could barely keep anything down, and had no strength left to resist, he was admitted into the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital. After a series of tests were done, it was discovered that his creatinine and urea levels were high, signs of kidney disease. He also tested positive for COVID-19, and was moved to the isolation Centre, where he had to undergo dialysis four times a week for the three weeks he was there.
The kidneys and circulatory system are dependent on each other to function properly. The kidneys use a lot of blood vessels to filter waste and extra fluid from the blood. When the blood vessels suffer damage, the nephrons that filter the blood can't receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to function well, and over time, high blood pressure harms the renal blood vessels to the point of irreparable damage.
When your doctor sees you regularly, they are able to monitor your progress, adjust medication where necessary, and advise on necessary lifestyle changes to help mitigate complications that may arise from your condition.