Bright girl suffering kidney failure needs help

Thirteen-year-old Dorcas Wanjiku who is suffering from kidney failure is assisted by her mother Hannah Wairimu at their home in Mai Mahiu. She needs Sh2 million for a kidney transplant [Photo: Antony Gitonga/Standard]

A 13-year-old girl suffering from chronic kidney failure in Naivasha is optimistic that she will sit for this year’s KCPE unlike last year when she had to skip the exams after her condition deteriorated.

Dorcas Wanjiku’s hopes lies in getting funds to undergo dialysis before the exams kick off.

Despite the pain and weakness, the teenager with a frail voice is hopeful that miracles will happen and she won’t miss the exams for the second time.

When we visited her home along the Naivasha-Mai Mahiu road we found her sleeping as her mother sat nearby ready to offer support.

Her troubles started in 2012 when her legs and neck started to swelling, forcing the poor family to seek assistance from various health facilities.

She was diagnosed wrongly in several hospitals until 2014 when the problem was fully identified as kidney failure and things have never been the same for the family.

“Last year I had registered for KCPE but due to my deteriorating condition I skipped the exams and doctors have said that I need a transplant to fully solve the problem,” she said.

Appeal for support

Wanjiku is appealing for support from members of the public adding that she spends Sh10,000 a week on dialysis, a figure the family can no longer afford.

“My hope is that one day I will be a kidney specialist so that I can assist those who have undergone what am currently going through,” she said.

Her mother Hannah Wairimu, who lost her husband two years ago, said that she had stopped working as her ailing daughter required all her attention.

She said that the family, which has no source of livelihood, required Sh2million for the transplant in India adding that a donor had already been identified.

The emotional mother of eight said that Sh450,000 raised for the family early in the year had all gone towards her daughter weekly dialysis and medication.

For assistance, the family can be reached on 0713-112031 or M-Pesa agent number 221625 - Dorcas Wanjiku Medical Fund.

Wairimu said that getting a bed at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) was turning out to be nightmare as the number of patients seeking dialysis in the country continues to rise.

Mai Mahiu MCA Stephen Ngethe spoke of how the family had suffered while booking a bed at KNH.