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Crippling illness changed course of my life

Health & Science

By Kiundu Waweru

As was often the case, Karani Kinyua went to bed looking forward to the next day. As an insurance sales agent, he was at the peak of his career and making money that many 34-year-olds only dreamt of.

This time however, Karani never woke up to go work. Instead, he ended up in hospital where he spent the next eight months.

He remembers the Monday morning in April 2003 when his life changed forever. When he woke up, he could only lift his right hand. Picking his phone, he called a doctor friend. The doctor broke down the door and minutes later, Karani was rushed to Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi.

"At most, I expected to get an injection and walk out hale and hearty," recalls Karani, now confined to a wheel chair. "It was not until eight months later that I got discharged from the hospital."

Various tests to determine his ailment were futile and at one time he was nearly operated on a wrong diagnosis.

A few days later, surrounded by colleagues, a nurse about to sign off for the day conducted tests on him and announced that he needed to be taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), pronto.

"Though I was paralysed and I couldn’t even turn in bed, my mind was sharp as ever. I tried arguing with the nurse and she heard none of it."

It turned out she saved his life as his breathing was weak and he was put on machines.

"Swallowing became difficult and I was fed liquefied food. I will never forget the good care I received at the ICU."

A week at the hospital and still no diagnosis. Then a neurologist conducted a "most painful" test, a spinal tap, whereby he inserted a needle in the spinal column and drew out cerebrospinal fluid. Another test, Nerve Conduction Velocity, sealed his suspicions; Guillain-BarrÈ Syndrome (GBS), a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system.

After three weeks, he was transferred to Nairobi West Hospital. He would constantly constipate and passing stool was impossible. The pain was unbearable and he relied on the nurses even for the simplest tasks like scratching an itch.

"You can’t believe the things we take for granted, like turning on the bed, peeing, taking a shower," he says with feeling.

With his medical cover depleted, Karani remarkably worked from his hospital bed calling up clients and convincing them to buy insurance as his friends assisted him sign deals. His effort saw him qualify for another medical cover but unfortunately his bosses barred him from working for them.

"Instead of using me as a model, as I was productive even though paralysed, they insisted I had to be there physically to sign deals."

Cash strapped he resolved to recuperate at home and hired two nurses, going against the doctors directive that he remain in hospital.

Karani remained bedridden for four years, surviving on commissions from the existing clients while taking medication and physiotherapy.

After diagnosis he underwent a treatment that helped him regain use of his hands and other parts of the body.

Though bedridden, he started trading stocks and in 2007, he bought a car, which was modified for him to operate it using his hands.

"Now mobile and able to sign, the company accepted me back. I even won an award in 2009 for being a top performer,"says Karani.

However, his services were terminated unceremoniously in what he suspects was due to his condition.

"You are as disabled as you think. Nothing was going to come between me and success."

Today, Karani aged 42, runs two companies, Covernet Insurance Agency where he is an intermediary for ten Underwriters; and a supplies company, Sonkaki Holdings Limited.

He is a single father and he lives with his son Brian Kinyua, 15. Despite his situation his house-cum-office is well kept.

He cooks, washes and does everything for himself from his wheel chair.

Even though rare, there are a number of people with GBS in Kenya. Some have died due to poor medical attention and late diagnosis. Karani is in the process of registering GBS Foundation together with Catherine Kiarie, also a GBS survivor.

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