Agony for 34-year-old man bedridden at Baringo hospital since 2022 accident
Justine Koriema at Eldama Ravine Sub-County Hospital on March 8, 2024. He has been bedridden since May 2022.
What you need to know:
- As fate would have it though, Mr Justine Koriema's stay at Mogotio was short-lived owing to lack of finances.
In May 2022, the bed sores worsened and he was taken back to Eldama Ravine Sub-County Hospital.
Mr Koriema has not seen his four children since he was admitted to the hospital in May 2022.
He adjusts a folded blanket that serves as a pillow as he scrolls through social media pages on his phone.
A bag containing some of his personal belongings hangs on a hook by the window.
This has been Justine Koriema's home for almost two years since he was involved in a road accident in 2022.
The father of four has been lying in a hospital bed in Eldama Ravine sub-County since May 2022 after developing severe bedsores.
He spends his moments staring at the hospital ceilings and scrolling through his phone.
All was well with Mr Koriema until September 26, 2020, when his world came crumbling down.
He was on his way back to his home in Kipteurei village, Kisanana ward, Mogotio sub-County, from his daily routine of transporting charcoal on a motorbike from his village to sell in Nakuru town.
On the fateful day, he had left Nakuru just before 7pm and about two kilometres from his home, he lost control of his motorcycle and hit a culvert. He was knocked unconscious by the impact of the fall, just after 9pm, he told the Nation.
Because the road was not busy, no one heard or saw him fall until the next morning, when some passers-by raised the alarm after seeing him lying in the ditch. They thought he was dead.
He regained consciousness and was rushed to Nakuru General Hospital, where he remained for more than two months. It was there that he was diagnosed with paralysis as a result of a spinal cord injury sustained in the accident.
After two months of admission, he was transferred to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret for specialised treatment and discharged a month later to be nursed at home.
"I went home in January 2021, but after months of discharge, I developed serious bed sores on my legs, back and waist because I had no ripple mattress or a wheelchair. The situation worsened and I was taken back to hospital,” said the fourth born in a family of six.
It was at that time that he resorted to renting a house in Mogotio town so that he could be close to a medical facility and easily access a health worker to dress the sores since his home was in a remote village.
Justine Koriema at Eldama Ravine Sub-County Hospital on March 8, 2024. He has been bedridden since May 2022.
As fate would have it though, his stay at Mogotio was short-lived owing to lack of finances.
"I had to go back to the village again. I had exhausted all my money for renting the house and upkeep,” he told the Nation, adjusting his improvised pillow.
In May 2022, the bed sores worsened and he was taken back to Eldama Ravine Sub-County Hospital where he has stayed to date.
Because his village is not connected to electricity, he cannot get the comfort of lying on a ripple mattress meant for someone with paralysis. The mattress needs electricity to operate.
At the hospital bed, he is occasionally lost in thought. He has received a few visits from relatives since he was admitted close to two years ago.
The internet, the medics at the facility and patients at the male admission ward three have been his companions.
Now paraplegic, he tells Nation that he has not seen his four children since he was admitted to the hospital in May 2022.
“I was accompanied by my wife when I was admitted here at the time. We stayed for two days and I requested her to go and take care of the children. She has not come to check on me because of lack of finances since she relies on menial jobs to feed the children,” said Mr Koriema.
“My firstborn is in Grade Four. I was their breadwinner and it is sad that after I was involved in an accident, life for them became unbearable. I normally speak with them on the phone and they sometimes complain that they slept on empty stomachs because my wife is jobless. I also miss them because ever since I was admitted in hospital I haven’t seen them either,” he struggled to explain.
He is now appealing for help, to acquire a ripple mattress and a solar system so that he can be nursed at home and also spend time with his children who frequently ask when he will be discharged from hospital.
“I miss my children and I would wish to spend time with them. Lying in a hospital bed alone, for years, with my family living hundreds of kilometres away is not easy. Most of the time I feel that boredom is almost killing me. I wish I could get help to get out of here,” said the distraught man.
Justine Koriema at Eldama Ravine Sub-County Hospital on March 8, 2024. He has been bedridden since May 2022.
He reveals to Nation that it took him time to come to terms with the fact that he will no longer walk and fend for his young family as he used to do.
“I used to work very hard to fend for my children. It took me time to accept the reality, but with the help of the social workers, I pray that I will overcome it. Now I am forced to depend on people for virtually everything, ranging from bathing or even to basking in the sun. To keep bad thoughts away, I spend my time on social media. It is therapeutic,” he said amid sobs.
“Sometimes I just feel that my life is almost coming to a screeching halt because I have nothing to rely on. I feel so lonely here. I have just resigned to my fate,” he added.
Daisy Jebet, a social worker at the facility said the patient was first admitted to the facility in 2021 and a month after he was discharged, he developed bed sores that forced him to be taken back to the hospital.
“Since 2022, the patient has been in this facility and we have been dressing the wounds he sustained owing to the bed sores and also offering him psycho-social support. For close to two years, he has been lying in this bed because he gets the special bedding, a ripple mattress and can be nursed well,” said Ms Jebet.
“He is also suffering from boredom because since he was admitted here, he has not been visited by his family whom he says are grappling with financial challenges. He has been using the ripple mattress in the hospital and whenever he is discharged, he normally develops bed sores because he cannot access the special equipment needed for him. If he can be assisted to access power, a wheelchair and the special bedding, then he can be nursed at home,” said the social worker.
