Baringo snake bite victim detained in Nakuru Hospital over Sh135, 000 bill
Snake bite survivor from Baringo County is being detained at Nakuru General Hospital for failing to raise Sh135, 000 to settle medical bill. The poor 65-year old granny Tarkok Chelimo hails from Sinoni in Kasiela Sub-location in Mochongoi Ward, Baringo South Sub-county.
“I now feel better, I would like to go home but I cannot manage due to the accrued medical bill” Chelimo told media in her hospital bed on Thursday.
Three weeks ago, Chelimo had her right leg amputated after doctors in the facility recommended as a last option to stopping the snake venom from spreading to the other parts of the body.She was bitten by a poisonous Puff adder snake on her leg-thumb while attending to her farm on September 14th last year.
The 3.30pm incident saw the woman receive first aid at a Chemist in Kabel trading Centre in Mochongoi-15kilometres way before being rushed in an ambulance at Nyahururu Referral hospital to Nakuru.
Chebinyiny Location Chief Samuel Waseges confirmed the incident noting the poor family cannot raise the money to offset the ballooning bill. Waseges said the case is among several snakebite incidents in the area blaming the expenses on unavailability of anti-snake venom drugs in the local dispensaries.
According to the family sources the granny is the breadwinner as her 75-year old husband Chelimo Kibowen is aging and sickly.
“She was placed in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for four days but thank God she is alive, only problem is now raising the amount to offset the hospital bill” a relative Jonathan Kiprop said.
He added the leg was rotting regularly while doctors tried to clean up the snake poison, so forcing them to resolve amputation Kiprop who resides in Nairobi says the family is so poor that they cannot raise even raise Sh200 to purchase simple pain killer drugs.
“Anytime the hospital required some amount to purchase drugs but none of the family members could manage until I had to chip in by sending some Sh500 through M-Pesa” he said.
He further said apart from the the granny’s sons and daughters being jobless, the family livestock-only source of livelihood were stolen by armed bandits from the neighbouring community.
Kiprop further said recently the community organized a fundraiser which saw paltry Sh2,000 raised.Reportedly the Nakuru hospital now wants the granny’s bill settled so she can be discharged in order to create space for other patients.“Nurses are now threatening to spread for her a mattress on the floor but before that we hope to raise the money to see her discharged honorably” Kiprop said.
He said she further requires some crutches or a wheel chair to aide her movement.For Mpesa contributions contact:
-Joseph Kangogo