A 30-year-old Malawian man with short stature and breathing difficulties that mostly emerge when he is asleep says the medical challenges he has been experiencing for years have impacted him mentally.
Andrew Samson made the remarks in an interview with Citizen TV which was posted on ‘Rodwell’ Facebook Page yesterday.
Andrew is a secondary school graduate and conducts business at Kaphatenga in Salima. He is 30 but has a short stature.
He says his family noticed his short stature when he was nine because that was when he stopped growing tall.
According to Andrew, when he was three years he would sometimes faint and this affected this growth.
After the problem of losing consciousness stopped, he started having breathing difficulties while just sitting or while asleep.
Andrew says when an episode of difficulty breathing starts, he gets paralysed as he cannot speak or move but can hear people talking.
“It is as if I am between life and death. I can feel that I am not breathing but a person near me does not know so they cannot help.
“To get back, I have to shake myself. Sometimes, I even find it difficult to shake myself and can see death coming but through the grace of God my breathing resumes,” says Andrew.
He adds that he also find it hard to eat such that he cannot finish a bottle of coca-cola or a piece of Nsima because he experiences severe stomach pains when eating.
Andrew has been to various hospitals for medical assistance including Kamuzu Central Hospital where his parents were told that they had gone to the hospital late.
“They said my parents should have gone to the hospital while I was a child. But at some hospitals they did not find anything wrong after conducting tests,” says Andrew.
According to Andrew, the medical issues he has been facing have been affecting him mentally because he feels that he is different from other people.
“For example, I feel as if I am already dead because the things that happen are similar to being dead,” he says.
Andrew who stays alone and owns a small scale business says he would appreciate any help including assistance for medical help because he does not know exactly the cause of his condition. He also asks for basic needs and assistance for education so that he can study for a course.
