Nandi family blames Kapsabet hospital for boy's paralysis

Emmanuel Ewoi is pictured at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, to where he was transferred from Kapsabet County Referral Hospital following a hip injury. PHOTO | EDITH CHEPNGENO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Asman Ewoi said his son Emmanuel, 12, underwent the operation in September, after a fall, but has not improved.
  • Dr Daniel Kemboi, the Medical Superintendent at Kapsabet hospital, said that when Emmanuel was taken there, his injured hip area had had already started to form pus.
  • Dr Kemboi further noted that before doctors acted on the boy, his father was informed of the possible outcome.

Kapsabet County Referral Hospital in Nandi County is on the spot over the case of a pupil who allegedly became paralysed from the waist down after a hip surgery.

Mr Asman Ewoi said his son Emmanuel, 12, underwent the operation in September.

This was after he hurt his hip in a fall at their home in Kapsabet town in July while carrying a bucket of water.

“His younger sibling alerted me about a limp and when I inquired, I was told he had fallen. We thought it was a minor injury but when it didn’t heal, I took him to Kapsabet County Referral Hospital,” he said.

FRACTURE

Mr Ewoi said he was informed at Kapsabet hospital that his son had fractured his right hip and would undergo a corrective surgery.

“I just wanted my son, who was in so much pain, to be fine so when I was told he had to undergo surgery, I accepted,” he said.

“Two months after the surgery, there has been no improvement. My son just lies in bed and is unable to stand or walk.

"I confronted the hospital administrators as his condition worsened. We were referred to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in October."

The single father of three said Emmanuel, who will be in Standard Eight in 2020, was his source of hope.

“He was a bright boy and being my first born, all my hopes were in him. Their mother recently passed on," he said.

"I took my son to Kapsabet hospital when he could walk but now he can’t walk or do anything on his own."

PUS

Dr Daniel Kemboi, the Medical Superintendent at Kapsabet County Referral Hospital, said that when Emmanuel was taken there, his injured hip area had already started to produce pus.

Dr Kemboi further noted that before doctors acted on the boy, his father was informed of the possible outcome.

“When the boy was brought in, he had already started developing pus on the hip area and his spine. The first process he underwent was to drain the pus.

"We could not do anything with the injured hip at that moment because the bones around it had already been infected."

CONSENT FORM

Dr Kemboi also said that before they drained the pus, Mr Ewoi signed a consent form.

“Emmanuel's case was a complicated one. Before we took the boy to the theatre, his father was informed of all the possible outcomes. Any spine operation is always a complicated one,” said Dr Kemboi.

The superintendent also said Mr Ewoi was informed immediately that his son would not walk again and that the family was referred to MTRH after Emmanuel had been admitted for two months.

“His father came to my office complaining. The family had financial constraints ... we had tried referring them before. The County government and the hospital also had to step in on their case,” said Dr Kemboi.

“When we referred them to MTRH, the boy was in the same condition he was brought in,” he added.

ARTHRITIS

At MTRH, Emmanuel was diagnosed with right hip arthritis, which according to the chief executive, Dr Wilson Aruasa, is a condition caused either by an injury or an infection.

“The hip joint was really gone so the doctor did was a surgery to simply repair those joints. He also put a pin in the joints to hold them nicely,” said Dr Aruasa.

He said that due to the extent of the joints damage because of arthritis, there might be need for a total hip replacement after skeletal maturity.

“We do not do hip replacement for children. We allow them to complete skeletal maturity, which happens at even 40 years of age. In the meantime, the boy will have to use a wheelchair,” he said.