A long journey to health after near-fatal accident

Hillary Kiptum does his daily walking exercise. His family appeals to well-wishers to help them raise Sh3.5 million. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Polio is a dreadful disease, but bring up the subject of immunisation and Harold Kipchumba leans heavily forward on his crutches and animatedly holds court on the subject.

But behind the relaxed and convivial façade lies a woeful tale of tears, love and pain that the family of Kipchumba, the UN Immunisation Goodwill Ambassador, has had to endure for the past five years, after a road accident in 2013.

On April 4, 2013 Kipchumba and his then 21-year-old son Hillary Kaptum escaped death by a whisker on the Nakuru-Naivasha road.

“It was around 7.30pm when we got involved in a multiple car accident, and were crushed in between two trucks. My son Kaptum swerved and took the impact of an on-coming truck which would have crashed into my side of the vehicle,” said Kipchumba.

Prior to the accident, Kipchumba had just attended an ODM meeting after being nominated as a senator to represent the interests of the disabled. He had neither been sworn in nor allocated a driver.

Four people died in the accident that night. Kipchumba sustained eye injuries while his son’s head was so badly hurt that he was wheeled into the morgue on arrival at the hospital.

“He was pronounced dead at the hospital but I insisted on being transferred to the Aga Khan Hospital for further treatment. You know how hard it is to let go of someone you love? I was adamant and insisted that I needed a transfer,” said Kipchumba.

Incredibly, Kaptum was still alive, but in a coma. Kipchumba was elated but doctors warned that his son’s chances of survival were slim.

“Doctors said he had a 10 per cent survival rate, which is the hardest thing I have ever had to stomach. He remained in the intensive care unit for three weeks, and each day we had to pay Sh75,000 just to keep him breathing,” the father recalled.

With finances stretched thin, more bad news was broken to Kipchumba when he learnt that the courts had scuttled his senatorial ambition after ruling that his ODM nomination was null and void.

“It was like a thunderbolt. That is the time I wanted the money most to support my son. But, as if God wanted to relieve us of the whole situation, Kaptum woke up from the coma and was transferred to the high dependency unit where he stayed for another six months.”

Hillary Kipchumba (right) with sons Moses, Hillary, Wife Dorothy at their Kabarak home last Friday. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Dorothy Kipchumba, his mother, described the period as the worst moment of their lives.

“We had no income and I had left our home in Kabarnet to stay with my husband and son in hospital. The bills were high and we could no longer afford to keep him in hospital.”

After almost two years in hospitals and spending over Sh14 million, the family moved to Nakuru where they could access vital services at subsidised prices at the Level Five Hospital. Kaptum attends hospital three times a week for therapy at a cost of Sh3,000.

But Kaptum’s health has started deteriorating and doctors have suggested that he travels to India for specialised treatment.

The family is now appealing to well-wishers to help them raise Sh3.5 million. A fundraiser will also be held in Kivi-Milimani Hotel in Nairobi and Bontana Hotel in Nakuru on Wednesday, June 27.

The M-Pesa Paybill number is 683358; Account number 472082001, Hillary Kaptum Medical Fund.