The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Life’s changes
“It soon hit me that I was leaving theatre without a leg. I was so angry at everybody and anything. I was telling the medics to scratch my leg but the leg was no longer there. They all thought I was going cuckoos.”
“At that moment, I just wanted to see my mother because I felt she was the only one who could understand me and be there with me,” she says, “The beauty of it all is that I had great support and a few friends.”
“But I also lost friends in that whole time. I have friends that blocked me immediately they knew I was losing my leg. Even the friend we were dropping after the graduation party blocked me everywhere.”
Kangume worried about her livelihood. She was among the family’s bread earners but she now thought she would be out of a job. She says she was working as an administrator and bursar at a nursery school in Kampala.
“I was not sure I would still have the job because my job entails a lot of movements. I was worried my boss would not retain me. But then, my boss came around and told me anytime you are ready, you can come and work.”
“I prayed and thanked Jesus because I knew I had a job that can cater for my needs because this whole situation is not cheap when you don’t have money.” So she embarked on her road to rehabilitation.
The first week was so traumatic. I had to learn how to walk since most hospitals in Uganda don’t have such rehabilitation programmes.
“I was lucky that I got some education from the hospital where I got the surgery but even with that education I kept falling over. Every fall was traumatic because when you fall, you forget that you don’t have the natural leg and you fall on the wounded leg.”
“Every time I fell, everyone home would first freeze because they did not know what to do. So I would stay where I have fallen until a doctor in the neighbourhood arrives to give me a painkiller. The pain was so excruciating.”
She says she spent an entire week not wanting to talk to anyone or go out anywhere. “I could wake up one morning and feel frustrated about everything. You are frustrated that you have to get crutches and go to the bathroom.”
“To be honest, I was mentally damaged and emotional trauma is part of me.” “I am scared every time I see the road side trenches. That explains why I rarely use boda bodas. Whenever I use one, it is scary because they are so fast and when I am driving, I try to keep away from the trenches as much as possible.”
Over the last three years since the accident, Kangume says she has adjusted quickly. She says she began evaluating her life and wanted to start afresh. So she started by ending her relationship with her boyfriend.
“I broke-up with him because I did not want him to be with me out of pity. I wanted to start afresh, meet someone when I was already in this new situation so they see what they are getting into,” she says, “I initiated the break-up. He still wants us to be together but I don’t feel it.” She also says she gave up drinking.
