Family seeks help to clear Sh4m hospital bill after son dies in India

Rick Ndung'u, 12, succumbed to congenital heart disease at Miot International Hospital in India. [Courtesy]

A Kenyan family is stranded in India with the body of their son, who died from heart disease.

The mother, Christine Kairuthi, said Rick Ndung'u, 12, succumbed to congenital heart disease at Miot International Hospital.

Ndung'u was a Grade Seven pupil at Damacrest School in Kikuyu, Kiambu County.

The family, which hails from Miathene in Meru County, is now struggling to raise more than Sh4 million to clear the hospital bill.

“The hospital has given us four days to clear the bill and bring his body back to Kenya because they said they do not keep bodies for long,” she said.

Heart specialists at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), Karen Hospital, and Nairobi Hospital had attended to Ndung'u before he was flown to India for further treatment.

“After a CT scan and MRI at Nairobi Hospital, he was diagnosed with complex congenital heart disease, and we were referred to the Indian hospital,” she said.

After a month-long admission at KNH, the family sought a referral to the Indian hospital.

“With help from friends and a loan, we raised some money to get here. Surgery, which was performed in March, and other services consumed Sh2.7 million,” a tearful Kairuthi said.

She said the boy was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for a month, but his condition did not improve.

“He was on life support. He did not make it. He died last Saturday,” she said.

Kairuthi, who spoke to The Standard by phone from India, is appealing to Kenyans to help them raise the money needed to clear the hospital bill and enable them to bring the body home.