Girl in first ever full limb replacement surgery at Kisii Hospital

Judy Nyanchama, a boda boda accident victim during an interview at her Igare home in Kisii County. [Sammy Omingo/Standard]

For more than two years, Judy Nyanchama, 17, has not been able to participate in her favourite sport - athletics.

Although she may never run as fast as she did before she was involved in a grisly accident two years ago, something that happened two weeks ago has given her a flicker of hope.

Nyanchama, a Form One student at Gionseri Secondary School in Bobasi constituency, was fitted with a full prosthetic (artificial) leg at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital (KTRH), becoming the first ever patient to undergo full prosthetic surgery at the hospital for free.

The life-changing operation gave Nyanchama a new lease on life. She has been able to go back to school and is working hard to become an orthopaedic specialist.

“My life felt like it had reached a dead end. I am glad that despite not being able to perform all my duties, I can go to school. It is by God’s grace that I am alive today,” she said, adding that she is now even able to walk long distances.

Nyanchama lost her right leg in a road accident involving a boda boda and a matatu on the Kisii-Ogembo road in 2016.

Then in Standard Seven, she was on the motorbike with her younger sister, heading to her uncle’s funeral some 20km from their home. Her sister sustained only minor injuries.

Nyanchama was taken to Tenwek Mission Hospital in Bomet County where doctors amputated her leg.

Hospital bill

Her hospital bill came to Sh500,000 and her parents, Bernard Mikuro and Eveline Biyaki, had to sell half of their land to to settle it.

At the time, the prosthetic unit at KTRH was not operational.

With so many boda boda accidents happening in Kisii, KTRH Chief Executive Officer Enock Ondari said the unit would save patients the cost of having to travel to Nairobi, Kijabe or Tenwek to get prosthetics.

“Much as we are forced to acquire materials from Nairobi, it takes patients here one to two weeks to get their prosthetic gear. We have a team of more than eight orthopaedic technologists to help us improve our health services,” said Dr Ondari.

He said they intended to carry out sensitisation campaigns so more patients could visit the hospital for the prosthetic surgery.

Douglas Osoro, an orthopaedic technologist and head of the unit, said preparing prosthetic gear takes around six days.