Happy and healthy New Year.

There are numerous ways to introduce 2021 and  ‘happy’ does not sound like one of them. In fact, ‘healthy’ is a far cry from what is globally plaguing us. Yet I feel confident in a rather exuberant way that 2021 is meant to be a beautiful year. We may all be in the ocean of catastrophic global healthcare but we are not sailing in similar boats. Some have yachts and others have sinking ships. One thing is common to us all, Covid-19 is not our fault but how we respond will always be our responsibility.

I would be lying if I do not say that I have thoroughly appreciated your audience for the past few years especially in 2020. That rather red year saw this girl roll up her sleeves and put pen to paper in a rather meaningful way. I have had a reason to colour this blog every Wednesday and that reason has been you, my esteemed readers.

This year is a curious extension to last year on topics that are dearly covered here. For starters, World health Organization okayed 2021 to be an extension of the Year of The Nurse and Midwife-2020. In this backdrop, I will give nurses a forum to express themselves and tell their stories. As a registered nurse myself, both in Kenya and the United Kingdom, there is something I fight tooth and nail for, and that is the advancement of nursing as a reputable career in and out of the hospital.

Further, Covid-19 has the entire world on tenterhooks and the difference this time is that we have vaccines.  These are heavily reliant on nursing professionals to administer. We cannot ignore the role of the role of the nurse anymore. It can be overlooked, however, if nurses bury their heads in caps and cover their mouths in masks and refuse to speak out. Nurses must positively be encouraged to tell their story, within and without the confines of the hospital.

Covid-19 has shocked the world into healthy living. This is the vision of this blog. To have everyone better comprehend their health and wellbeing. I will be happy to delve into different topics as the days pan out. Top in the list is lifestyle diseases that cause Chronic Kidney Disease. I am a renal nurse so Yours Truly will be biased. Nevertheless, most of you have written to me with exciting topics that they need wide coverage of. I daresay I am challenged.

I am not known to walk away from a challenge. If it takes me several days to break down a complex medical topic into a thirty minutes’ read, I love the odds. Albert Einstein is the dark angel on my left shoulder that whispers that the measure of intelligence is the ability to change. I have positioned myself as the change I need to be able to address rather extensive ideas outside my specialty.

As I wish you a tremendously healthy 2021, I pray that you realize that good health and well being will not happen upon us. It will require deliberate actions. Healthcare exits to complement our lifestyles, not to replace it. Granted, many illnesses and injuries are inevitable. Even then, at least we will have done our best. If not to lead healthier lives, then to understand disease and wellbeing for the sake of those near and dear to us.

From Cate Mimi,

Have a Happy New Year.