Kenya looses one of the greatest legends, Njambi Koikai

Jahmby Koikai, popularly known as Fyah Mummah Jahmby passed on after a long battle of Endometriosis that started from the age of 13. She was born and raised in Dagoretti, Nairobi, where she vied for an MP seat in the last general elections but was unsuccessful. She was raised by her mother and her grandmother. Three days before she met her untimely death, she had appealed for a blood donation as she was hospitalized. She died at the age of 38 years after years of battling Endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a systemic, inflammatory disease characterized by the presence of endometrium-like tissue found outside the uterine cavity.Through her fight with Endometriosis, she undergone 21 surgeries, the last one being in the year 2018. While celebrating her birthday earlier this year on the 24th of January, she shared a cryptic post on Instagram and said that " I'm grateful to God for life and another year.It's been a rough patch since October last year when the weather changed. Dealing with heavy grief, loss, pain. I developed a strange cough that has endured until now. Well, it turns out I developed reactive airway disease due to the horrific surgeries I went through on my right lung. I've been dealing with the effects of late diagnosis of Endometriosis and access to early treatment."

To which she called the government to action to issue insurance for Endometriosis patients since they have to pay from the pocket. Misdiagnosis means more hospital bills before finding the right specialists. She further urged the government to find research and correlation between the long term effect of Endometriosis and autoimmune diseases.

It is through her fight for Endometriosis that made the disease be known by many. She would talk about it on Radio interviews, TV interviews and many knew her as a fierce fighter.

Try this count 10 women or girls you know, 1 of them has extremely painful periods which could be Endometriosis. In Kenya it seems the numbers are higher. So over 200 million women worldwide are battling Endometriosis. March is World Endometriosis Month.

6 years ago, she underwent a life-changing surgery due to this full-body disease. She had no idea that the disease had affected her heart, her back, her appendix (which was removed), her teeth, her gums, her lungs and diaphragm, was diagnosed with acute anaemia. It wasn't until that they got to the Center for Endometriosis Care in Atlanta, that they got to know how far this disease had spread and the damage caused to her right lung and diaphragm after tens of surgeries.

Her eyesight was affected and she recently had to get a new prescription.

She said that she was saddened by the many years it takes to diagnose this disease. Due to the delay, the disease spreads to almost every part of the body. By the time we seek specialised treatment, we now have to deal with other autoimmune diseases caused by Endometriosis and Adenomyosis.

Endometriosis can also spread to your finger-nails and during that time of the month, your fingers bleed. She championed for a multidisciplinary approach of diagnosing this disease and treating it as soon as possible. Yes as soon as teenagers complain of excessive period pain and display all the symptoms associated with this horrific disease, then they should be treated by specialists immediately.

This disease can also affect women after childbirth and those who are going through menopause.

She got a diagnosis after 19 years of living in horrific pain, adding that " I can never describe to you what I've gone through because I truly lack words. My teenage years were brutal. My twenties- 30s have not been easy. This is a very expensive disease to treat and post-recovery requires a lot of care due to various side-effects."

Many Endometriosis patients have no medical insurance in Kenya so they have to pay out of pocket. It is a draining disease and a very expensive disease to treat with many families grappling with the harsh economic times. She hoped the Kenyan government will listen to the cries of millions of girls, young women, mothers and grandmothers suffering in silence. We need more doctors trained in treating this disease. The training of doctors should include, gynaecologists, neuphrologists, cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, ophthalmologists, dental surgeons as part of excising the disease from all the organs it has manifested itself in.

Young women are travelling far and wide to different countries seeking treatment. Some of the doctors out there are not certified surgeons in Endometriosis but most people here have no choice.

The myth that girls are missing school due to lack of sanitary towels is not entirely true, Girls are missing school due to excruciating period pain. We have normalised period pain. Young women are literally losing their careers, relationships, friendships, marriages due to this pain. Period pain is not normal.The Kenyan women parliamentarians need to table these issues in the chambers because this disease is one of the leading causes of infertility and cervical cancer. Kenya is mourning as we've lost a fearless fighter Njambi Koikai. May her soul rest in eternal peace.