By ALLY JAMAH
In January this year, Yobensia Bochaberi reported to Kenya Teachers Training College to begin her second term in training but before she could settle, she was seized by bouts of violent coughing.
Before long, her whole body started swelling and her skin went a shade darker.
“I was very worried and wondered what was happening to me. I went to my cousin’s house in Buru Buru in Nairobi, since my parents live in Nyamira. Fortunately my mum, who had escorted me to KTTC the day before, was still around,” recalls the 21-year-old.
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Upon seeing how swollen Bochaberi was, her mother, Rachael Kerubo Moriasi, and cousin Joan Moraa, rushed her to a nearby private hospital for examination. Her blood pressure was found to be abnormally high, which set off the alarm bells.
Comprehensive check-up
The nurses there suggested that they go to Kenyatta National Hospital immediately for a comprehensive check-up.
“At KNH the following morning, the doctor informed us that Bochaberi had suffered serious kidney failure and recommended immediate admission and dialysis to save her life,” recalls Moraa.
Dialysis is the procedure used to “clean up” toxins from blood the same way kidneys do, without which the body is poisoned and life snuffed out.
The news of kidney failure hit the family hard, but the following month would even be tougher.
“Since January, we have spent more than Sh1 million on dialysis which is conducted twice a week, and medication. The costs are overwhelming,” confessed Bochaberi’s mother, who is a housewife and peasant farmer in Nyamira.
SEVERAL LOANS
Bochaberi’s father, Samuel Ombuya, is a teacher at Nyakeore Primary School in Nyamira County. He has since taken several loans to pay the hospital bills but the worst is not over yet.
Further, the family has sold a small piece of land in their efforts to keep their daughter alive. According to Prof Joshua Kayima of KNH Renal Unit, the only way out is for Yobensia to get a kidney transplant to end the need for the weekly dialysis sessions that cost an arm and a leg.
“She has made reasonable progress towards stability and possible kidney transplantation. This would offer her the best quality of life and productivity,” he says. In an expression of her undying love, Kerubo has offered to donate one of her kidneys to save her daughter’s life and end her suffering.
“We have done the initial tests and it appears that our blood groups match. It means I may be able to donate a kidney without it being rejected by her body,” she said.
The pending challenge is securing Sh2 million needed for the transplant. “I would be so happy to return to college and pursue my dream career of computer science. I miss my friends and colleagues in school. I feel an overwhelming sense of loss since I can’t join them now,” says Bochaberi.
Friends and family are meeting for a funds-drive in Nairobi tonight (Tuesday) led by West Mugirango MP James Gesami and businessman Patrick Osero, at the Professional Centre, while a special bank account (Co-operative Bank, Account No: 01109306129700) has been opened for donations from well wishers.
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