Tanzanian legendary hip hop artist Joseph Haule aka Profesa Jay was on a long campaign trail when he was forced to cut it short after suddenly feeling weak.
On January 24, 2022, while at home after taking a few days off from campaigning, his wife rushed him to Lugalo Military Hospital in critical condition.
After initial tests in Lugalo, he was quickly transferred to Muhimbili National Hospital as his situation deteriorated, where he was immediately admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
The former Member of Parliament for Mikumi Constituency fought for his life as he spent 462 days in the hospital in critical condition.
When Professor Jay was taken ill, he was grappling with a variety of health issues ranging from high blood pressure, COVID-19, lung complications as well and kidney problems that necessitated dialysis.
For more than a year, Professor Jay says he relied on tubes inserted into his body through the nose and mouth to breathe, feed, and excrete while he remained unconscious for the better part of the course of his treatment.
“When I was taken to Muhimbili, the doctors spent an hour using a defibrillator and other machines to revive my heart rhythm, which had stopped,” Professor Jay recalls.
“My lungs were filled with fluid and my kidneys were filled with kidney stones. I could barely breathe. I was fed through tubes inserted into my nose, while the waste from my body was expelled through my mouth,” the rapper adds.
But that didn’t prove to be a permanent solution, so his throat had to be surgically opened – a suggestion his family objected to.
“My family was not ready for this decision as I depend on my voice for my livelihood, but the doctors said at that moment nothing else mattered but saving my life and if they refused, then I would die because the surgery was needed to remove the waste that was accumulating in my body,” the singer continues.
Professor Jay, who insists he is lucky to be alive, says he spent 127 days in intensive care.
“I had lost all hope of ever living again. At that time, I was sure I was going to die. For me, it was a question of when, not if. One day I woke up and wanted to end the suffering, so I pulled the dialysis tubes out of my body to the amazement of the doctors. I was ready to die.” He reveals.
He was later flown to India for further treatment, where he was hospitalized for another 162 days before returning home to spe
