A motorcycle accident, a bedridden son and a Baringo family with millions in debt

Sitting in a makeshift shaded area on a seat with two cushions and two pillows for comfort, he nodded as he sang along to some gospel songs playing in the background.

Moses Kiprop Rerimoi, 28, from the village of Kipkoriony in the Eldama Gorge, has been living here since February 2016, after being discharged from hospital following a road accident that left him immobile.

Despite his condition, he manages to put on a smile as he sits down on the sofa to exchange pleasantries.

Kiprop’s father Symon Cheruiyot remembers that fateful day as if it were yesterday. It was August 6, 2015, when family members, relatives and friends gathered at a hotel in the town of Kabarnet to raise funds for Kiprop’s older brother Dennis Rerimoi, a student at the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) who was scheduled to fly to India for a kidney transplant.

Dennis was diagnosed with diabetes in 2000 and his condition worsened until he suffered kidney failure in 2004.

On the afternoon of the same day, Kiprop, who was in fourth grade and preparing for his state exam in the following trimester, had closed school for a holiday and met his family in town to get the money.

Shortly afterwards, Kiprop was sent to pick up something from her house in Kaptimbor, on the outskirts of the city, almost a kilometer away. To save time, he rode a motorcycle.

At that moment, their world collapsed. A few minutes after their departure, they received a message that their third-born son had lost control of his motorcycle in the village of Kapkogorwa and hit his head on a stone.

“I don’t even want to remember the feelings I had when I received the news of my son’s accident, but I still had to be strong to cope with the situation. We were raising funds for his older brother, who was to be flown to India for a kidney transplant, when I got a call that Kiprop had been involved in an accident one kilometre from the town of Kabarnet,” said Mr Cheruiyot.

“He was a fourth grade candidate at the time and that day the school was closed for the August break. We sent him to choose something to do at home. Little did we know that this could be a turning point in our lives and add to the countless difficulties we were going through. I was forced to leave the fundraiser and treat him in the hospital,” the distraught father added.

At the scene of the accident, the motorcycle was a wreck and he had suffered severe head injuries after losing control and being thrown against a rock.

He was admitted to the Baringo County Referral Hospital in Kabarnet and later referred to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret for specialized treatment.

Due to his condition, Kiprop had to be admitted to the intensive care unit, but the MTRH’s bed capacity was exhausted at that time.

“I remember it was difficult to get him into intensive care and we tried to admit him to three other facilities in Eldoret without success. Finally, he was admitted to Reale Hospital. The next day, he underwent head surgery and doctors discovered that he had suffered brain damage that even ruptured the inner membrane of the skull,” Cheruiyot said.

After the operation, he was in intensive care for more than 21 days. He later spent more than six months in the general ward because his family could not afford the medical bill of over three million shillings.

“He was discharged on October 6, 2015, but we had exhausted all funds to pay the medical bills which totalled over Sh3 million. We were employed until February the following year after the family collected some amount and Kiprop’s grandmother also parted with her property title,” he explained.

A month after his discharge, Mr Cheruiyot had to organize another fundraiser to take his second-born son, Dennis, to India for a kidney transplant – he traveled with him and his first-born son, who was also the donor.

After a successful kidney transplant at Indraprastha Apolo Hospital in New Delhi, India, the family faced another challenge when Dennis developed complications that required further stay and expense for intensive care treatment.

The family had to sell their two remaining cows to finance their upkeep in India as they planned another fundraiser.

They were released from the facility months later, but had to spend more than Sh20,000 every month on his medication and another Sh20,000 on his bedridden brother, who was still recovering from injuries sustained in the road accident.

Unfortunately, Dennis died in February 2021, six years after a kidney transplant.

“We have used up everything we had on the treatment of our two sons. So far, we have spent more than Sh10 million on their treatment. Unfortunately, Dennis died of complications in 2021. Kiprop is still bedridden due to the injuries he sustained in the accident and still needs more money to provide him with more medication,” said Mr Cheruiyot.

“It has been a challenge because since the accident, Kiprop has had to rely on people for almost everything as he can no longer move himself. The brain damage has left him unable to move and he also has memory loss. In recent years, we have also noticed that his left leg has become shorter than the other, which indicates a problem,” he explained.

According to the father of four, his bedridden son uses three diapers and medicines worth 10,000 shillings a day.

“My mother put up her hospital title deed as security for him to be discharged from the hospital in 2016 because we failed to clear the Sh3.3 million. To date, we still have debts of more than Sh2.1 million that we have not cleared due to the myriad of challenges. We are also appealing to anyone who is well disposed towards him to allow us to admit him for further treatment because his condition has not improved,” he noted.

“We fear that our land will be auctioned if we do not pay the debt as agreed,” Cheruiyot added.

Pauline Cheruiyot, Kiprop’s mother, could not contain her emotions.

“We have been facing a challenge since 2000 after Dennis was diagnosed with diabetes which later led to kidney failure. After spending more than Sh6 million on his treatment and kidney transplant in 2016, he died six years later. Before he was flown to India, his younger brother had an accident which left him bedridden for years. It is so painful for a mother to see her children just waste away,” said Pauline, fighting back tears.

“I even remember that when my husband and our two sons went to India, they were detained there because Dennis had complications after the transplant. He had to be put in intensive care, which increased the bill. At home, I took care of Kiprop after I was discharged from hospital after the accident. I had to sell our two remaining cows at that time to be able to feed them abroad. Since then, our life has been hard. We are only asking for help to take our bedridden son for further tests and treatment,” said Pauline.

With a visible scar on his face as a stark reminder of the 2016 motorcycle accident, Kiprop, who has difficulty communicating due to his memory loss, has high hopes that he will one day be back on his feet.

“I ask everyone to help me walk again. My feet are very weak due to the accident I was involved in, but I am sure that with more medication I will be able to walk again. Every morning, after doing some exercises and my father helping me bathe, I have to sit on this seat in the shade while we spend the day with my grandmother,” Kiprop said.