Ngozi was tired in a way that sleep couldn't fix.
Every morning before 5am she was in the kitchen — cooking, packing lunchboxes, running her shop alone. She was proud of that life. Then one afternoon, she collapsed.
Doctors gave her five medicines and said "you'll be managing this for the rest of your life." She took them every day. But the tiredness never left. Her legs were still swollen by evening. Her family started walking on eggshells around her.
"I had quietly stopped planning for the future. I just managed. One painful day at a time."
Then her sister told her about a bitter herbal tea. Within weeks, something shifted. By week four, her doctor reduced her medication for the first time. One morning her son walked in and found her singing while she cooked.
"Mummy — you're singing." She laughed out loud for the first time in months.