Helena Grahl-Cobbold is a 64 year old pensioner of the Ghana Education Service and an ordained minister of the Faith with the Methodist Church, Ghana. She has a lot of young dependents in Ghana who still depend on her for their daily sustenance.

She has been a diabetic for the past 20 years.

In 2019, she took leave from the Methodist Church, Ghana, to visit the USA for three months. Upon her arrival, she had a serious health crisis that took her to the emergency room in St Luke’s University Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She was soon admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with kidney failure. The hospital decided to place her on emergency dialysis. This has been a significant breakthrough because it has improved some parts of her quality of life, in particular with the easing of some of the pains and discomfort. Notwithstanding, being dependent on dialysis has been quite challenging due to various adverse reactions the treatment can cause. Dialysis is also a restrictive intervention because it requires her to attend the clinic every alternate day, spending three or more hours on a machine that works as her kidneys. As a result she is unable to commit to any engagements in her ministry or with family, friends or the church that require travel.