8th AUGUST 2016. A pregnant woman goes into labor at her home at Nyakwerema village, Bonyarorande location, Kiabonyoru ward, Nyamira county. The woman stops her work smearing her house and gets ready to go to hospital. The woman, being alone at home goes down to the road alone since there’s nobody at home with her. On her way to the road, she is overwhelmed by labor pains and sits down at the side of the road. A neighbor finds her lying down and looks for ways of helping her to the hospital.
By 06:00 pm she arrives at Nyamira level 5 hospital and the nurses direct her to the maternity wing. She is directly taken into the labor room for delivery . (NO ASSESSMENT IS DONE FIRST)
The lady, now forced into labor goes through all the pain and wailing and gives birth to an overwhelmed baby who dies in the process of birth. The nurses realize at this point that the pelvic bones aren’t intact and they had moved before birth.
The nurses rush the woman to theater while in a comma. The guy at the theater tries to lie her under the broken down life support machine but it doesn’t help. He tries to give phone calls to his seniors who don’t respond. He recommends the patient be referred to Kisii level 6 hospital. The guy leaves the patient at the entrance of the theater room and rushes down to the emergency unit. (I wonder why there are no direct departmental calls) He meets a lady driver to the ambulance who I forms him the ambulance has no fuel. He rushes back to theater trying to make phone calls all in vain.
THE LADY PASSED ON AT THE THEATER ENTRANCE. I receive a phone call that my lovely sister has passed on. Emotional and crying we drive all the from Kisii town to Nyamira. As I enter the watchman Is sitted at some corner with the lady ambulance driver. They act remorseful and tell us “pole gaki”.
We ask to view the body expecting it to be at the mortuary but we are directed to the theater room. I enter an empty room with blood smeared all the walls and doors, bloody gloves,uniforms boots thrown all over. I look at the guy sitted at one end if the theater seemingly behaving like we aren’t present.
I move closer to his computer and realize he is playing cards(spider solitaire). We ask to view the body and we are directed back to the door where we find our sister lifeless and her face full if hopeless. She looks tired in death.Blood is all over her and she isn’t properly covered. Her dignity is now thrown away. We turn back to the guy.
“Hey doctor what happened? Am sorry her bones had moved we could not help. Which bones (He murmurs) Pelvic bones? Yes those ones.
I realize he doesn’t understand his job. We walk away and ask him to call the mortuary attendant. He tells us that mortuary attendant can’t be reached. He must be somewhere drinking right now. He will come to collect the body in the morning.
I move to another department, build a relationship with those there, we have a little chat and ask him to intervene in having the body booked at the mortuary. I promise the attendant through this guy on phone that I will give something for his drink. He promised to come shortly. (It’s three hours since we came)
The mortuary attendant comes after 5-10 phone calls and after like 45 minutes since he promised.
We try to engage him but he responds rudely to us. He goes to the mortuary comes with his trolley(don’t know the proper name) He goes around picking other bodies assuming us.
Later I face him. (Hey bro, I love the way you are helping us. Take this tea for the good work) He smiles. Pushed his trolley to the theater room picks the body and takes it to the mortuary together with the dead child.
At the mortuary all the bodies are lying there at the entrance. It’s really stinking. I stand at the door. He takes our body and conducts his operations for preserving the body. He tells ‘ulinichunga vizuri nitawashughulikia'” I am sure the body is booked in the mortuary. I leave few relatives who had just come and we drive back to Kisii town. Very sad and not knowing what to do.
It’s 03:11 in the morning. All through the night I call the only office that should be giving hope to the county residents in vain. I text Mr Onchana who doesn’t respond at that time(I understand he is asleep)
He wakes up in the morning and directs me to the director health Mr Bosire. I call Bosire and he tells me he is busy attending to the governor’s events at the villages.
“I AM HOPELESS IN MY COUNTY. MY GOVERNOR SAID HE HAS BUILT FOUR THEATER ROOMS BUT I CAN ONLY FIND ONE STINKING HALL. MY AUNT IS DEAD. MY FAMILY IS WAILING. MY COUNTY KILLED ONE OF HIS OWN. NYAMIRA IS EATING IT’S OWN BABIES TEARS”