I carried a five-kilogram (11-pound) bag of maize on my left shoulder from the shop where I bought it to a bus station about two kilometers (1.25 miles) away. Then I got on a bus heading for a bus station near my home. When I arrived, I had to carry my bag of maize another half a kilometer to my house. Apart from the task of carrying the bag, I had spent the day occupied in other manual work. That evening I was exhausted and decided to have an early dinner, then go to bed.

The following morning I had excruciating pain in my left shoulder. Suddenly, the whole arm felt powerless. When I tried to stretch out both of my arms, I was shocked to find that only the right arm could do so. 

I struggled to sit comfortably on the corner of the bed and pondered what to do next.