By Gardy Chacha

Having given birth to a child with cerebral palsy, Jardine Mwangeka, 54 dedicated her life to ensuring persons living with the condition lead a normal fulfilling life.

Every young woman envisions a satisfying future made complete by a loving husband and doting children. This was not any different for Jardine Mwangeka, especially after graduating from University of Nairobi in 1981, when female graduates were few and far between.

What she faced and the direction her life took though, is a stark contrast of what she had envisaged. Jardine Mwangeka’s story reads like an epic scripted for a Hollywood shoot.

“God planned my course and I have accepted it,” she contently says.

Mwangeka, 54, is the chairperson of Cerebral Palsy Society of Kenya (CPSK). She has dedicated herself to ensure persons living with cerebral palsy lead a relatively normal life that’s comfortable to the most possible extent.

“As a parent of a 21-year-old son living with the condition, I understand the challenges that parents with such children go through and that’s why I continue to dedicate my life to do the best I can for them,” she says.

Her first-born son was born with cerebral palsy (CP), a condition that annuls the functionality of body muscles as well as other body organs. She named him Harrison Isuwirio: “Isuwirio means waiting with hope in my Taita language,” she offers.

A year after Mwangeka completed her university degree, she got married to her husband who at the time worked as a tourist attaché in Sweden in 1982. She joined him abroad so they could start their lives legally, having been betrothed to him. Like any newly wedded wife, she was enthusiastic about getting her first child.

“Our first year together went by and I didn’t conceive. Then the second and the third years came and went, causing me anxiety and worry,” she remembers.

After returning back from Sweden in 1984, Mwangeka began seeking gynaecologists for evaluation and treatment. By 1989, she had made numerous visits to dozens of doctors, but none seemed to understand what had put her reproductive system on a stymie. For a while, she gave up the search for a baby, but resumed in 1990.

She sought the services of Dr Hansa Patel — an obstetric gynaecologist who had no children and didn’t feel like having any, though she helped other women get children of their own.

“She discovered cysts in my reproductive pockets and operated on me in July of 1990 to get rid of them. Later on I conceived and in 1991 I delivered Harrison,” says Mwangeka.

Asphyxia

For a decade she had been waiting meticulously to have a baby and after years of waiting and persistent nagging from in-laws, she finally had one. However, she didn’t expect that her child would have a debilitating condition.

“The baby was normal throughout my full term pregnancy, but at birth, he emerged tangled by the umbilical cord. He neither cried nor did anything else,” she recalls, her mind going back in time.

According to the doctor who aided the delivery, Harrison became asphyxiated and his brain was affected in the process. He was put in the incubator, but even after signs of life showed, the doctor told her he might develop problems growing up, she remembers.

It wasn’t long before they began noticing the boy’s convulsions and muscle incoordination. The doctor confirmed that their child had cerebral palsy and we resolved to take care of him as he grew up.

Mrs Mwangeka gave birth to three other children after Harrison — all who had no complications.

“I delivered Wilson, Agnes, and Eunice through Caesarean because I didn’t want to leave anything to chance. This was a pain I opted to take to salvage their lives. Once bitten twice shy and I didn’t want any of my other children to develop cerebral palsy,” she said.

At the time she was expecting her last born back in 1996, she learnt about Cerebral Palsy Society of Kenya (CPSK). She became a member and was made the assistant chairperson. Though she held a full time job with the government, she devoted part of her time in the running of the society, sensitising people about the condition and helping other parents accept that their children have the condition.

In 1985, after returning from Sweden, Mwangeka joined Kenya Posts and Telecommunications as an assistant postal controller. She worked in the operations department until 1994 when she was elevated to the position of a postal controller. In 2001, she became an assistant manager at Postal Corporation of Kenya — the company having been renamed. She held that position until February this year when she left so she would give CPSK all the attention it requires.

New post

 “I felt I had outgrown my position and at the same time I wanted to dedicate my time to the society,” Mwangeka jovially says. “I am supposed to hand over the chairperson position and become the CEO of the society later this year. In my new capacity, I intend to give hope and provide better conditions of life to these children and their parents.”

She was the CPSK  assistant chairperson from 1997 to 2006 when she was made the chairperson. She now wants to hand over the chairmanship and embark on governing the society, making strides and working for the betterment of the lives of her son and other persons living with cerebral palsy.

“As the chairperson I’m like a volunteer, as the position is a non-executive one. As the CEO, I will have the ability to make tangible impacts in the lives of CP persons,” she quips.

Mwangeka’s hope is that people will understand what CP is and they will accept those affected and give them support so they can live a normal life.

She has taught her three other children to accept their brother and attend to him when he needs them. Her husband too, has been supportive in his roles as Harrison’s father and her husband.

“I’m grateful that I have these people around me. Even the nanny I hired to take care of Harrison,  Joyce Mwangemi, has immensely helped me in the process of giving Harrison a good life,” she says with appreciation.

Even though she wouldn’t treat her child’s condition, she vowed to make his experience living on earth a pleasant one.

As she seeks to change people’s perception and stigma, she hopes to contribute in making this world a better place to live. Blessed with courage and sufficient bravado to tackle CP, her dream is to maintain the pulse in the veins of those living with cerebral palsy.