The headache that changed our lives forever

Grace Mukami started a day care centre to take care of special needs children after meningitis left her grandchild with brain damage. PHOTO| AYUB MUIYURO

What you need to know:

  • The doctor recommended that she should be taken back to school so as to help her brain regain its full functionality.
  • Meningitis had severely affected her brain such that she was not able to coordinate her speech and could not write.

In a classic case of turning lemons into lemonade, 65-year-old Grace Mukami started a day care centre after a series of misfortunes left her grieving for her daughter and taking care of a special needs grandchild.

Grace became the guardian of Ruth Kivoi when the child's mother passed away in 2004.

“Ruth was in Standard Seven at the time and a bright student in school. She eventually scored 384 marks when she sat for her KCPE exams in 2005,” says Grace.

Ruth missed school a number of times because she was often unwell. What they did not know at the time was that she was suffering from bacterial menegitis .

She was admitted to a local high school and continued to post good results in her exams but still complained of headaches, high fever and was sometimes unable to walk.

These symptoms persisted even after treatment.

When Ruth was in Form Two, her health issues persisted so much that she had to stay away from school for a whole year.

“Everyone gave up on her because she was not responding to treatment while admitted at Nakuru Level Five Hospital, but I was dedicated to taking care of her. After being discharged from hospital, I hired therapist who attended to her at home as advised by a doctor,” says Grace.

She also concentrated on improving Ruth’s diet to boost her immunity.

“One of the things I did every morning is making carrots juice for her and together with therapy she eventually got back on her feet.” 

The doctor recommended that she should be taken back to school so as to help her brain regain its full functionality. Meningitis had severely affected her brain such that she was not able to coordinate her speech and could not write.

DID NOT FIT IN
“Although she was readmitted, she had a difficult time settling back in. She fell down so many times because her movement was not well coordinated and had no one to take care of her. This further affected her performance. She could not fulfil her obligations as a student. For example, simple tasks like writing became difficult for her and eventually, the school told me to bring her back to school only when she could write,” recalls Grace.

“Even though an assessment by the Kenya Institute of Special Education showed that she had a chance learn a number of things afresh, I was unable to convince the school to readmit her,” she adds.

Grace had no option but to take care of her grandchild at home.

“Whenever I had to travel or run an errand, I used to lock her in the house and I would only attend to her when I came back. That’s when the challenges of raising such a child dawned on me.”  

Grace Mukami started a day care centre to take care of special needs children after menegitis left her grandchild with brain damage. PHOTO| AYUB MUIYURO

She decided to start a day care centre that would take care of children with various forms of disabilities.

She started the uphill task of looking for funding for her venture and eventually got a well-wisher to pay for a space she had secured inside a church compound.  

In 2015, she started Malaika Daycare and Rehab Centre in BondeniNakuru.

She started with five children, among them her grandchild.

Today, the centre has 16 children with various conditions with the majority suffering from cerebral palsy.

The day care runs for three days a week.

“The main purpose of starting the centre was to help the parents with special needs children. I wanted to ensure they had somewhere they could leave their children when they went to work.”

Grace works with two female assistants who help in cooking and cleaning and one therapist.  

Mr Peter Tanui, an occupational therapist, takes care of one of the children at the day care centre which is based in Nakuru. PHOTO| AYUB MUIYURO

In future, she hopes to have enough funds to take in all the children in need of her services and to keep the centre operational daily.

“I only rely on donors and well-wishers who help in purchase of massage oils, therapy equipment, beddings and napkins.”

Whenever she is informed of children with such cases, she visits the parents and encourages them to bring forth the child.

“Through a good diet and therapy, the conditions can be managed. In January 2018, we had one of enrol for a normal school and it was so encouraging.” 

**

FACTS ABOUT MENENGITIS

Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes (meninges) surrounding your brain and spinal cord.

The swelling from meningitis typically triggers symptoms such as headache, fever and a stiff neck.

Early meningitis symptoms may mimic the flu (influenza). Symptoms may develop over several hours or over a few days.

Viral meningitis is usually mild and often clears on its own. Bacterial meningitis is serious, and can be fatal within days without prompt antibiotic treatment. Delayed treatment increases the risk of permanent brain damage or death.

Most cases of viral meningitis occur in children younger than age 5. Bacterial meningitis is common in those under age 20.

Meningitis complications can be severe. The longer you or your child has the disease without treatment, the greater the risk of seizures and permanent neurological damage, including:

Hearing loss

Memory difficulty

Learning disabilities

Brain damage

Gait problems

Seizures

Kidney failure

Shock

Death

Source: Mayo Clinic