TALES OF COURAGE: I lost my hands but my dreams remain intact

They say curiosity killed the cat but for 19-year-old Daniel Mutahi Ndirangu, it cost him both hands.

Daniel and his friend were both nine years old when curiosity led them to an abandoned room on that ill-fated day.

“There was an unoccupied room just behind the church, and my friend and I wanted to find out what was stored inside. We hid from the other children and went to the room.”

Little did they know that only a few minutes later, one of them would be fighting for his life at Nyeri General Hospital and later lose both his hands.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The fateful day had started off like any other Sunday.

“It was a bright day and I was looking forward to the Sunday school service so I could play with my friends,” he recalls.  

Daniel’s mother had taken him to the Sunday school service to join his fellow age mates while she headed to the main service.

At the end of the service, Daniel and one of his friends decided to play separately from their colleagues, in a different room.

Once inside, the boys saw several electric cables hanging over their heads across the window. Daniel and his friend began arguing about who would touch the cables first. The cables were all live and exposed.

“We were pushing and shoving each other wanting to be the first to reach the wires. I managed to reach the wires first,” Daniel recalls.

On touching the cable using his right hand, Daniel got stuck. He thought quickly to save himself, by using his left hand to detach himself, it stuck too. Regrettably, he got fully electrocuted.

“Those who found me told me that both my hands resembled charcoal as they were completely burnt.”

On seeing Daniel unconscious, his friend ran out and alerted those outside the church. Daniel was rushed to the Nyeri General Hospital.

“By the time my mother was being informed, I was already in theatre.”

Daniel says his mum was terrified. She tried to hide it from him but he could see it on her face as she sat beside his bed.

Daniel was later referred to Kenyatta National Hospital for advanced treatment. He stayed in hospital for a period of four months

“Nothing could have been done to save my hands so they were amputated. The doctors were even shocked that I survived the trauma.”

SAW A COUNSELLOR

After several months in the hospital, he got to see a counsellor as well as a physiotherapist for a period of one year. They helped him adjust to his disability.

His family and friends treated him normally even after the accident whish went a long way in helping him adjust to his condition.

Daniel was transferred to a special school once his condition stabilized where he was trained on how to write using his legs. He is also able to perform other tasks like operating his laptop and phone using his toes.

“Growing up without my hands was tough. It was difficult to balance and I used to have many accidents. But seeing that it happened while I was still very young, I was able to adopt to my new body.”

He can write text messages by the use of his toes. He also receives phone calls through a bluetooth headset.

JOINED SCOUTS MOVEMENT

He joined the scouts movement as an extracurricular activity in high school, but when he was made commander, he liked the authority that it came with. He likes being in leadership.

He is now in Rover Scouting which is a service program for young men in their early 20s.

Daniel is  looking forward to join Mount Kenya University come May 2018, where he will pursue a course in computer programming.

“Losing my hands made me a stronger person. I now believe that as  long you have the brains, you can achieve anything you want to in life. I would encourage others to utilise what they have as opposed to crying over what they don’t.”

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