Battling chronic renal failure at 13

Derrick Mwenda, 13, who suffers from chronic renal failure rests after undergoing dialysis at Embu Children Hospital-Tenri. INSET: Mwenda at the hospital. He needs Sh2 million for a kidney transplant. [Photos: JOSEPH MUCHIRI/STANDARD]

Chronic renal failure rarely affects people under the age of 30. But this is not the case for Derrick Mwenda who started battling the disease at 11.

The Standard Five pupil at Kiriari Primary School was diagnosed with the condition in 2014 and requires an urgent kidney transplant. Now 13, Derrick’s both kidneys have failed and he has to undergo dialysis twice a week - Wednesdays and Saturdays.

This has affected his school attendance. The disease has weighed heavily on the family and his mother, Hellen Gatwiri, has volunteered to donate one of her kidneys to save her son’s life. “He first fell ill on November 2014 and was admitted to Embu Level Five Hospital for three weeks before he was referred to the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Nairobi where the condition was diagnosed. He has been on treatment since and sometimes hallucinates. He sometimes wakes up at night screaming, saying he had weird dreams. It is traumatising,” she says.

Derrick goes for dialysis at Embu Children Hospital-Tenri. A session costs Sh7,500, of which Sh2,500 is paid by the National Hospital Insurance Fund.

Gatwiri, who works as casual labourer in tea plantations, says the treatment has drained the family financially. They had to sell property and hold fundraisers to get money for tests, dialysis and treatment.

At the health facility, Derrick undergoes dialysis and blood-filtering treatments. According to Dr Jim Njamiu, he has lost a lot of weight.

Dr Njamiu said the condition is rare in children and is usually hereditary. He said Derrick had been diagnosed with hypertension just a year before the kidney failure.

“It is the first case I’ve encountered in a young child. When it occurs between ages five and 14, kidney failure is most commonly caused by hereditary diseases,” he said.

He said the hospital had waived some of the hospital bill and helped organise a fundraiser that realised Sh300,000. But the family needs Sh2 million for the transplant at either KNH or India.

Annisia Nyaga, a nephrologist nurse who has been attending to Derrick advised that he undergoes kidney transplant.

The family, however, cannot afford Sh200,000 for cross-matching to establish if Derrick’s mother is a suitable donor. People of goodwill wishing to help Derrick can reach his mother Hellen Gatwiri on 0703222709 or deposit money to Derrick Mwenda Medical Fund Account, Cooperative Bank of Kenya, Embu branch, Account number 01109730115800.