Kidney patient’s push for new lease of life after organ failure for three years
By Caleb Korir, August 30, 2024Wendy Mwelu’s dreams of living a normal life has for three years been plagued by kidney failure.
The 40-year-old mother of one was living a good life until she was diagnosed with fibroids that colonized her uterus. She said the doctor recommended a surgery to remove fibroids in 2021. Unknown to her was that the theatre would signify the beginning of her health troubles.
“During the surgery I contracted infections. After that surgery I had multiple organ failure including the kidneys because of the infection called sepsis. I was rushed to ICU where I lost my memory for four days and I remained in ICU for two months,” she narrated.
Sepsis is a serious condition in which the body responds improperly to an infection. The infection-fighting processes turn on the body, causing the organs to work poorly. It may progress to septic shock. This is a dramatic drop in blood pressure that can damage the lungs, kidneys, liver and other organs.
Initially, she was admitted at Mediheal Hospitals (Parklands), Nairobi, where she was monitored in ICU, and after two months she was transferred to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) where she spent a few hours in ICU before being taken to general ward to recuperate.
One week later, her situation stabilised and she was discharged. However, getting out of the hospital with a condition that she didn’t have on admission day took a toll on her. Her life now revolves around dialysis, having to visit the hospital thrice a week making her life unbearable. The cost of one dialysis session is Sh9,000 excluding the cost of other complementary medication.
“I go for dialysis three times a week where I spend more than four hour per dialysis. I have been on dialysis for three years and every time I fear for my life because it drains all the minerals in my body. I’m also restricted from taking water and some food. I no longer work anymore as I spent most of my time on medication,” she said.
Wendy’s journey of looking for a kidney donor has turned out to be an uphill task since she does not have siblings – she is the only child of a single mother. Due to this most of her relatives don’t share similar blood groups. Her blood type is B+, which does not match that of her relatives including her mother. She is appealing for an altruistic donor to come to help her live a normal life.
“I am appealing for a selfless donor to donate a kidney to me so that I can live a normal life. This kidney failure has made my family members so fearful and uncomfortable. They are living with constant panic whenever I am in dialysis because you can easily die if anything goes wrong in it or even when I eat anything that can react with my body,” she said, as tears welled in her eyes.