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How Sh2,500 Meant Difference Between Life, Death to Mother
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 17 July 2007 22:04
The mother of a three-year-old daughter, was an excited lady because her bananas were ripe for sale at Daraja Mbili market in Kisii town.
Kerubo, her husband James Nyabiyage Matara their daughter, Kang'ina, were all hoping that the sales would be good enough to help them buy a meal the following day.
They anticipated for Sh380 sales that day.
Kerubo offered some of the bananas for their evening meal and another little bunch for her widowed mother-in-law, Mong'ina Matara to take as lunch.
In her excitement and hope for a big sale at the eagerly awaited day's market, the three never knew that fate and poverty would bring them tragedy instead of a big sale.
In the small hours of the night, Kerubo developed stomach pains that she first jokingly told her husband could have been caused by the bananas they ate for supper.
Innitially, things appeared not life threatening. She took a glass of water and rested on a wooden chair in their grass-thatched hut at Gesero village of Suneka division, Kisii District.
The pains subsided but came back at about 5am. She asked for more water but the pain went on.
"Between us was Sh35...not enough for us to seek medication at the Kisii District Hospital," Matara said.
With his wife writhing in pain and desperately calling for attention, Matara decided to carry her on his back to hospital, nine kilometers away.
It took him and two other men two hours to get her to hospital shortly after 7am, and they had to wait for the doctors up to around 8.30am.
Kerubo, who could not speak, was admitted to the district hospital where the District Physician, Dr J P Owuor, helped lessen the burning pains. Hope was sluggishly coming back.
"After two days of treatment the doctors ordered that we take an X-ray of her stomach," Matara said.
The X-ray report indicated that Kerubo had a complication in her intestines. So Dr Owuor transferred her to Ward 2 since the case required an operation.
At least that was the only way out to rescue Kerubo's life, according to Dr Owuor. ForMatara, a man who had just gotten a casual job earning Sh480 per week.
The worry was how to get money. The operation fee would cost Sh2,500. And there was no blood group AB negative at the hospital.
But they had to get it from wherever they could.
It was such that Matara and his equally poor relatives decided to look for any person who would buy some half an acre parcel of their family land.
They got a buyer who offered them Sh10,000. They decided to sell a family goat, Kang'ina's best playing mate at Sh2,500 and the unsold bananas at a wholesale bargain price of Sh220.
Kang'ina's cries as the buyer drove the goat out of the home were distressing. Sadly, it was the only way her mother's life could be saved.
The fee was promptly paid the following Thursday the blood bought from two willing donors in the village.
Reaching the hospital, they were told that her operation would be done the following day.
In the growing anxiety, the family resolved to hire the services of another surgeon. The hospital could not allow this.
Come Friday morning, and the situation became more complicated.
A 75-year-old retired teacher from Nyanchwa estate had to be attended to after thugs shot him.
That meant the same surgeon, Dr T N Nyamache, had to attend to the patient.
Mzee Francis Onyoni Makone, unfortunately, died later.
Come Saturday when Kerubo's operation should have been carried out and allegedly there was no oxygen at the hospital.
And shortly after midday, she breathed her last, a death her husband and relatives contend was caused by delay and red tape.
Kisii Medical Officer of Health, Dr Erick Abunga, confirmed that she was admitted to the hospital.
"I have called for her file and learnt that she was suffering from intestinal obstruction for which an operation was preferred," Abunga stated.
Saying his next move would be to summon the surgeon to explain to him the circumstances of the incident. Abunga said the complication was manageable.
"She was not at a point of no return though she could die while undergoing operation by bad luck," Abunga stated.
The surgeon who was enlisted for the patient, Dr T N Nyamache,on his part blamed the eventuality on lack of oxygen at the hospital.
"i handled a shooting victim on Friday when Kerubo's should have been attended and I tried to resuscitate her unsuccessfully on Saturday," Nyamache said.
Saying Kerubo's fate could be fifty-fifty under normal circumstances, Dr Nyamache says Kerubo suffered from addition of intestinal obstruction resulting from an earlier operation.
It was confirmed that she had been operated at a private hospital before her marriage to Matara three years ago.
"Surprisingly enough, patients from well-off families are usually attended in these public hospitals within the required times while many poor people like us are frustrated due to lack of money with which to push things fast," a relative claimed.
The protesting relatives want the government to compel the Kisii District Hospital management to explain why they refused to allow the other willing surgeon on leave to handle the emergency.
Kerubo's body was taken to Nyangena Hospital Mortuary.
