Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top

Kenya

In need of Sh12mn to get wife’s body for burial, take baby home

Grace was due to give birth to their second baby this month but things turned for the worse on December 18, 2018 when she developed high blood pressure/COURTESY

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 21- At one point, his wife and baby – who was born prematurely at seven months – were both at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) fighting for their lives.

His wife has since died after a valiant fight for her life after spending 40 days at the ICU while the baby’s health has improved and in fact, is ready to be discharged.

But Vincent Nyabera cannot get his wife’s body for burial or take the baby home because of a massive hospital bill.

To have both released, Nyabera needs a staggering Sh12 million, an amount that has proven impossible to raise even with the help of colleagues, family, friends and has now extended a hand of appeal to every Kenyan.

“My wife was a fighter. For 40 days in the ICU but she could still hear us urging her to fight on though in a state of coma,” Nyabera recalls the painful journey until he saw his wife Grace Akelo breath her last.

Grace was due to give birth to their second baby – a girl – this month but things turned for the worse on December 18, 2018 when she developed high blood pressure.

She was rushed to the Nairobi Hospital, where she was admitted and an emergency Caesarean section done.

Her blood pressure did not go down and at this point, “she developed some complications and her organs failed. She was taken to the ICU the following day after her blood pressure remained very high.”

At the ICU, she suffered kidney and liver failure among a myriad of complications.

“My wife was a fighter. For 40 days in the ICU but she could still hear us urging her to fight on though in a state of coma,” Nyabera recalls/CFM NEWS

A week later, her health would miraculously improve and she was taken to the normal hospital ward and 48 hours later was discharged.

That was on December 28 – Nyabera’s birthday – but their baby remained in the ICU. “Her lungs and heart were not fully developed. She was stabilised for 26 days,” Nyabera narrated during an interview with Capital FM News.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Fast forward to January 2 and his wife developed complications and was rushed to a hospital in Eastlands but was later transferred to the Nairobi Hospital.

On the way to the hospital, the ambulance oxygen system malfunctioned “and the nurse was unable to fix it. By the time we were arriving, my wife developed a cardiac arrest which 10 minutes later developed into a full-blown heart attack.”

“She was resuscitated for about 10 to 11 minutes but she never regained consciousness fully. Her brain was damaged, but we did not know to what extent because she was unconscious.”

On February 11, she breathed her last.

“We have been unable to access the body because of the bill,” an emotional Nyabera said.

This means no burial arrangements can proceed for Nyabera to give the mother of his two children a decent send-off.

He also needs to get the baby home.

To contribute towards his medical appeal, one can transfer cash to Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Account Number 1138131288, Account Name Grace Nyabera.

MPESA: Pay Bill Number 522522 account 1138131288

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

#IstandwithGrace #FullofGrace

About The Author

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News