Artsy doctor helping mothers with triplets

Dr Elizabeth Amakove Wala is settling into her new office at Amref as the regional manager, medical services, outreach programmes.

Before that, you might have known her as the CEO of the Kenya Medical Association (KMA) where she was for two years.

Not to condense her resume or achievements, but after the birth of her triplets she started this remarkable group on Facebook called Multiple Blessings, a support group for mothers of triplets or quadruplets.

The group then grew into a registered society called Multiples To Multiples Society that now has hundreds of mothers registered. She also writes a blog.

Elizabeth, although a doctor, has art written all over her - from her clothes to her spirit. And she owns it.

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Did you leave Kenya Medical Association a better place?

Of course I did. I left it with a strategic plan. It didn’t have one. I left it with structures, a natural manual, a natural system, financial manual... I left it with better resources because I brought in very many partners on board and also gave it the visibility that it required. Our doctors had lost faith in it, people felt that it was a club for the old guys, so I changed that face.

What’s at the very core of your existence? What’s the biggest thing about you?

That I’m not afraid of trying. I’m not afraid of taking risks. I was brought up to just do things and I love creating. Growing up, I really didn’t have proper exposure to what my career strengths were and what I’d thrive in doing. I don’t regret doing medicine but there’s a very strong art side to me.

I love creation, I love African, and I love design. Like my signature look right now is African through and through. So I have that artistic side to it.

You’re no longer practising medicine, does that sit well with you?

I’ve had like six months of practice out of 13 or 14 years. I’m still applying medicine in what I have been doing. I did my Master’s degree in infectious diseases at the University of London, which exposed me to a different way of thinking. UK has a different way of teaching. Their teaching is more to help a student succeed.

What’s been your biggest risk so far?

Going to unchartered parts, getting into research field. I remember my son writing in his essay, you know when they were about to leave the house and I’m checking the homework. I’m that kind of a mother who checks the homework at 7.25 am. (Laughs).

So he had written, “My mother used to work in a hospital and then she would give people medicine and then they would die so she moved to KMA.” I was very shocked because you see to them, the perception is that a doctor should be in a hospital. So there’s a lot of that you get. That, “Do you think you’ve wasted your training?” But you impact medicine because you’re still in the health sector and I know many, many people venturing out.

You have triplets?

Yeah. Three girls. I also have a son who is eight, he keeps getting forgotten. (Smiles).

This might sound like a very ignorant, manly question. But how is it to have three little human beings growing inside you?

(Chuckles) The experience was interesting because at least I had the benefits of having a singleton pregnancy.

A what?

A singleton — one child.

You know when you say singleton I’m just imagining a whisky.

(Laughs) Okay. The pregnancy was like a football match, they were all kicking at the same time and it was crazy. Then there was the stretching; they stretch and stretch. I hardly took any photos when I was pregnant with them.

Why?

Because I just felt like an elephant. People would come to just see me like a National Geographic specimen. (Laughs). I was very conscious of how I looked. I’m the type whose nose balloons and the feet swell. So I didn’t really enjoy how I looked.

How did the husband take the news of expecting triplets?

Their dad went into a zombie mode for two days.

Zombie is a good thing?

No! (Laughs). He just sat in front of the TV and just stared into space. Personally, I went to the salon— my refuge place. I was excited but also scared because I knew the risk that came with it. Then I was in a very high pressure job at one of the pharmaceutical companies because we could travel a lot and I went on with my life like normal.

It wasn't until like 24 weeks that I tried to look for resources and I realised people don’t have books on triplet pregnancies in Kenya and I had to order a book from Amazon. That’s when I knew I had to take care of myself, I had to slow down. I had so much support and I realised I wouldn’t have been able to go through that crazy period without the support from my friends and family.

That’s how I started a Facebook group called ‘Multiple Blessings’. So it’s for parents or siblings who have multiples and now we’re over 786 families on the Facebook group. There’s a lot of psycho-social support there because people walk with each other because you might have questions like, “How do you breast-feed triplets?” No one tells you.

Are they identical?

No, they are fraternal. Two look alike but they’re fraternal. So anyway, we give a lot of psycho-social support. We also lose a number of them because of the high-risk nature because most of them come premature.

Mine also came premature. There are struggles that come with the developmental issues. We registered a society called Multiples to Multiples. So we’ve hold get togethers. In fact this year, we held was our fourth annual get-together where we just meet and mingle and know each other behind social media space.

We also organise treats for the mothers because they also got very overwhelmed and they neglect themselves. So I try to tell them, “You have to be healthy for you to take care of others. It’s not selfish for you to take a few hours off.”

It must have been exhausting for you the first two or three years.

Very, extremely. But I put my children on routine even from birth. So it helps to plan around that schedule. It’s also very expensive.

How do they relate to each other?

The girls sometimes form a pack.

Against the boy?

(Laughing) Sometimes. The boy is melancholic and the girls are like their mother so I have to temper them down a bit. I also try to get the boy to interact with boys his age because there’s so much oestrogen in the house. But mostly, to be with outsiders. Like next year, they’re going to Class One and I told the teacher that I want them separated so that they can develop their own identities.

Do you have a family history of triplets? Or his family?

No, not really. I had to take fertility treatments for both pregnancies. So they were not spontaneous.

Are you planning on having more?

No I’m done completely. Their names start with Z. Jabali is the boy and then the girls are Zahra, Zarina and Zuena. So no more letters after Z. (Laughs). But I’m done. And then now, I’m raising them up alone.

Alone, where is your husband?

Well, we are no longer together.

Are you at a happy point in your life, raising four children alone must be tough?

I am happy. Am I happy? What’s happiness? I think I decide to be happy despite anything that I may be going through because your situation right now may be someone else’s aspiration. So you choose to be happy. I think I’m at a good place. Let me put it that way.

That’s good. How often do you change your hair, I bet you do some crazy things on that hair.

(Laughs) Every two weeks and yes, very crazy things. I blog about my hair. I have an album on my hair, I have an album on my clothes. So I have to be in an environment where I can pull off crazy styles.

But crazy is your definition, isn’t it? Crazy for a doctor that is.

(Laughs) I don’t like following the rules. I like creating my style.