Showing up to Black Men’s Wellness Day might have saved Joseph Holiday’s life, he said while attending the fifth annual event in Mississippi.
Downtown Jackson was one stop on the national “Wellness Day Tour” hosted by the African American Male Wellness Agency, and local organizers said over 450 people joined this year’s celebration. Volunteers and vendors worked in the sweltering 90-degree heat, offering tests for blood glucose and cholesterol levels, eye exams and education about prostate and colon cancers. Holiday, a first-time attendee, took full advantage of the free health screenings, especially the one for kidney disease.
“I’ve discovered that I have high numbers for my kidneys,” he said, referring to elevated protein levels that can indicate kidney damage. Holiday said he plans to go see the doctor right away — a big shift for someone with a self-described phobia of medical providers…