She was beaten in the head with a hammer and not expected to survive. Yet a Wichita woman from Kenya surpasses all odds and is now out of the hospital. The attack happened in January at the apartment Elizabeth Kogo shared with her husband. Her husband, Gideon Maiyo is now in jail charged with attempted murder. His trial is scheduled for May.
“I thank God I don’t remember anything because it must have been really bad,” said Kogo about her attack. It happened on her 29th birthday. She may not remember being beaten with a hammer, but she has scars on the back of her head to prove it. “They didn’t know if I would wake up from the coma,” she said.
The attack caused a traumatic brain injury so bad, doctors called Kogo’s mother in Kenya and told her to prepare for the worst. “It was very difficult,” said Regina Kogo. Three weeks later, she arrived in Wichita. She was not only surprised by her daughters progress, but also by the outpouring of support from people they didn’t even know. “I just thank God so much. I have no others words to say,” she said.
Not only did total strangers show up at the hospital room, but now that Kogo is out she’s been given a home to live in while she recovers. “She needs some help and it’s a little hard to go back and fourth in Kenya,” said Minister Larry Thomas with the Popular Avenue Church of Christ. The church keeps the house open for cases just like Kogo’s. Wesley Hospital contacts Thomas whenever they have a patient being released and is in need of a home.
“I just feel blessed. I feel like God was doing a miracle for me,” Kogo said. She feels she survived to warn others about domestic violence. Her husband scared her one other time that she called police. But she never followed up because she never believed he would really hurt her. “I now know if a man threatens you, you should take the threat seriously,” she said.
Her mother Regina Kogo says as a parent, she has a warning for all children. “If anybody intimidates them, if anyone threatens them, they should back out before it’s too late. As a parent that’s what I say. If somebody loves you, they should love you. They should not love you with fear,” she said. Both women hope other domestic violence victims learn from this story.
Regina has a visa to stay in the United States through August. Elizabeth Kogo will now focus on physical therapy to improve her speech and to walk. Kogo wants to go back to Kenya to visit as soon as she can but she plans on living in Wichita. She intends to go back to school and finish her degree in nursing.
A medical fund for Kogo has been set up. It’s under the name of the Elizabeth Kogo Fund at Wells Fargo Bank.
There is a domestic violence workshop for immigrants and other survivors coming up April 30th. It’s being hosted by One Stop Agape, Inc. It will be held at Grace Presbyterian Church April 30th from 12-4p.m. For more information call (316) 390-0804.
Comments