This archive report was first published on 16 September 2019.
Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris has been admitted at The Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi for a surgical procedure to address her chronic back pain, which dates back to 20 years ago when she gave birth to her son.
According to her Twitter post on September 16, 2019, Passaris revealed that she was to undergo a Medial Branch Block procedure plus Paraspinal L3 to S1 under the care of Dr Thikra Shariff and Mr Livingstone Olunya.
Passaris has been experiencing severe back pain, which has limited her daily activities, including going to the gym and walking for more than half an hour. She has been taking up to 8 tablets per day to ease her pain, but the medication has several side effects, including stomach problems and kidney damage.
Passaris expressed her desire to use medical cannabis, which is approved in some countries, to relieve her pain. However, medical cannabis is not approved in Kenya, and she has been forced to rely on painkillers.
This is the second time this year that Passaris has been admitted in hospital to undergo surgery. In March, she visited a doctor in India and has since been under medications to ease her pain.
