Help, my sister has a tumor on her face – PHOTOS
At the age of 20, Purity Munanie has not applied for an identification card. She hopes that a tumor on the right side of her face will one day be healed so that she can take the perfect photo for her ID card.
Her family is of meagre means. Her mother is sickly, her father is a casual worker and her siblings are unemployed. They have already held three harambees but fell short of Sh600, 000 needed for surgery – a recommended first phase of treatment.
Ms Munanie dropped out of St Andrews School in Wanzua, Kitui County, in 2014 while in Form Two after a pimple next to her nose started enlarging.
She was at first taken to Kitui General Hospital, who referred her to Thika Level Five Hospital and later Kenyatta National Hospital.
LONG WAITING LIST
According to her sister, Schola Mutheu who lives with her in Nairobi’s Mlango Kubwa estate, Kenyatta Hospital had a long waiting list for surgical procedures.
After months of waiting and agonizing pain on the patient, the family opted to have the procedure done at a private facility.
A series of fundraisers were held in Kitui and Nairobi to finance the first surgery at St Mary’s Hospital, Lang’ata.
“Because my sister was a Sunday school teacher at St Andrews Catholic Church in Wanzua, the church held a harambee and raised Sh20, 000. I got my friends in Mlango Kubwa to support me and we had a small harambee as well and that was the money we used to pay for the first surgery,” Ms Mutheu who does menial jobs within the estate told Nairobi News.
The surgery was done at St Mary’s in February 2016 and after a week, the patient was discharged.
Two weeks later though, Ms Munanie’s face started swelling again despite weekly visits for checkups. The tumor continued to increase in size and became worse than the original state.
SECOND OPINION
The family sought a second opinion at the Nairobi West Hospital early this month, where a consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr Eric Kahugu ran tests and diagnosed Ms Munanie with a craniofacial fibrous dysplasia.
“The doctor asked about our family background and advised that we see his colleague Dr Kennedy Koech at Kenyatta Hospital. He said the procedure will be cheaper at a government facility,” said Ms Mutheu.
After visiting Dr Koech’s office, the doctor recommended a surgery that would cost Sh600, 000 to remove the large tumor that had recurred.
The family is now appealing to well-wishers to help raise the amount by contributing through Paybil number 831932, account Purity.
“We have been in committee meetings where we have tried to raise the amount and it has come to the point where we are asking Kenyans at large to help Purity undergo the surgery by donating,” Ms Mutheu told Nairobi News.
A family friend who had been running an online campaign, Nicodemus Simba, urged Kenyans to help as the family and friends have exhausted all their means of fundraising.
Well-wishers can also reach Purity’s sister on 0720904330.
