A tragic road accident that nearly ended the life of the now 26-year old Moses Karonei has completely changed his life.
The young IT expert has been confined to a hospital bed since December 15 2016 after surviving a grisly road accident that left him paralyzed.
On the fateful evening, Karonei who hails from Tinderet, in Nandi County was from Muhoroni Sugar where he worked at the ICT department when a speeding saloon car hit him near Kipsitet trading centre along the Kericho-Kisumu Road as the lady driver tried to evade a pothole.
“Though I flashed the lights to the lady driver to warn her about the uneven road, she nonetheless swung to my lane and knocked me down. The accident happened so fast, I did not have time to react to save myself. I was brought to the hospital unconscious,” said the Mt Kenya IT graduate as told by the Standard.
He was rushed to Siloam Hospital where he has been bed-ridden since. He only gets to see the outside world through a tiny window in his ward.
A resident doctor at the Hospital, Dr Patson Kubuta narrated the medical ordeal Karonei has been through since the accident happened.
He recounted that Karonei was taken to theatre for 13 hours immediately after the accident for reconstructive surgery.
“The patient had extensive tissue loss especially from the left elbow and the lower back, multiple deep lacerations on the head and face among other injuries,” said the doctor.
In the past year Karonei has been in hospital, he has been in theatre for multiple surgical debridement due to multiple tissue necrosis.
He has also been getting daily wound cleaning and dressing as well taking antibiotics and analgesics, and has to attend physiotherapy sessions.
However, the doctor said that the patient still requires specialized plastic and reconstructive surgery because “Cervical spine X-ray and CT scans showed a burst fracture of the C-5 with a spinal compression of the same segment, leading to paralysis of both upper and lower limbs. Now he is unable to walk and has a wrist drop of the left hand.”
His hospital bill has hit Sh4 million. Even with several fundraisers organized by his parents, the amount has been a tall order to reach.
“I come from a humble background. My father has even put on sale a portion of the family land but he is yet to get a buyer,” Karonei plaintively said.
Karonei has a positive spirit though. He said this is what has kept him going because together with his family, they have been through a lot for the past one year.
“I dream that one day I will walk out of this bed healed and pursue a Master’s degree in Information, Communication and Technology, so that I can get a better job and offset the huge debts my parents have incurred since my treatment started. I would also like to get married and get children as any other man my age would do.”
“As I look through my hospital window and see happy people walking by, I pray that one day I will get healed and live life just like them,” he hopes, entertaining the thought of having a well-wisher offset his huge hospital bill.