PAY ATTENTION: TUKO is in WhatsApp Channels now! Subscribe and read news in favourite messenger.
Kirinyaga - A young lady has opened up about challenges that leave her stranded and in despair.
Esther Njoki Muriuki said she had had a medical condition for the past five years that has drained her emotionally and financially.
The woman said she was diagnosed with heart cancer a year into her medical journey, which adversely affected her life.
PAY ATTENTION: Do you have a video that never fails to make you smile? Spread the positivity by sharing it with us via WhatsApp: 0732482690.
Speaking to TUKO.co.ke, Muriuki said her condition was never treated earlier, which affected her heart.
"When I felt unwell, I used to go to clinics and a few hospitals which did not have quality services. I never knew I was suffering from tuberculosis because I was barely coughing consistently. In 2019 is when I went to a rather high-end hospital where I was scanned and found I was suffering from tuberculosis, and it had affected my heart," she claimed.
The woman from Kirinyaga county said she held a fundraiser to get money for her operation, which was already an emergency case.
She raised over KSh 100,000, with her National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) card covering almost KSh 200,000.
"The surgery was successful. It was a nine-hour open heart surgery, which went well. After the surgery, I was admitted to the hospital for some rest. By the time I was leaving, I had accrued so much money, around KSh 1.6 million," she said.
She did four more fundraisers and could raise some money to pay her hospital bill but remained with a KSh 400,000 balance.
Her family was compelled to give their title deed to the hospital until they cleared the remaining balance.
"The title deed belongs to my grandma's land where she farms rice. Should me and my mum fail to pay the hospital balance by July 2023, and the hospital keeps the title deed, she will chase us out from the land where we have built our house and render us homeless. We will not have a place to live. That title deed is our only security, but we need to clear the balance to get back the document," she cried.
In another heartbreaking story, a family from Kiambu was distraught after their kin, who died at Kenyatta University Referral Hospital, was detained there because of an uncleared bill.
The family was required to raise close to KSh 1 million for the body to be released for burial, but they were able to raise KSh 40,000.
The family called on well-wishers to help them raise the funds, further calling on the hospital to bury the body as they were unable to raise the funds.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
PAY ATTENTION: Unlock exclusive features from TUKO.co.ke - join our membership!
Ebrahim Raisi: Profile, History Of Iranian President Who Died In Helicopter Crash
Nursing Council Of Kenya Celebrates Security Officer For Babysitting Infant As Mother Sat Exam
Francis Ogolla: Inside Late KDF Boss's Palatial Home In Siaya
Esther Njoki Muriuki said she feared she and her mum may be rendered homeless.
Kirinyaga Woman with Heart Cancer Seeks Help to Clear Hospital Bill to
Joy for Kirinyaga residents as largest hospital in county gets set for