Bicycles
At our children’s hospital in Eldoret, the days are understandably filled with both hope and hardship. The children, many of whom are battling serious illnesses, are always on the lookout for any distraction to cheer them up. Therefore, we are always searching for new ideas. The latest is bicycles! Unlike an American hospital where the majority of kids are familiar with bikes, here most of the kids have never ridden in their lives hence the thrill of learning truly is a transformative experience.
Recently a fleet of new bicycles arrived at the hospital, they are even electric so kids who can’t pedal will be able to enjoy the adventure of cycling. The bicycles are more than just toys; they are fun, and they are tools for healing. It is understood that physical activity would not only help improve the children’s conditions by getting their blood circulating but also boost the mental health side, adding laughter, distraction, and joy to the day.
One of our childlife staff, Hudson, has become the instructor, and the kids use the basketball court to circle, often with Hudson running behind to help stabilize the bikes, till our patients learn balancing skills and can ride around the whole compound.
It is becoming routine that every morning, after their treatments and check-ups, a group of children gather waiting for the bicycles to be wheeled out. We don’t have a bike shed yet so the classroom is housing the ‘toys.’
I asked one of the learners, Angela, 10, if she knew how to ride. She didn’t. She told me she has spent more time in hospitals than most kids spend in playgrounds. She is undergoing treatment for leukemia, and the chemotherapy often leaves her feeling weak and tired. But when she saw the bicycles from her ward window, her eyes lit up and she told me she decided that she would promise herself she was going to learn how to not wobble like the other patients she saw, but ride, and ride fast. So, with the help of Hudson, off she went.
She pedaled slowly, her legs shaky from both nerves and the toll of her illness. Hudson, a pro, made sure of her stability and the task became a tandem effort. I’m not a doctor but I am sure that blood flowing faster around her body, her heart pumping is improving her health. But what she said when she dismounted made me cry, “Today I feel like a normal child. I forgot about my sickness.”
She beamed as her fellow patients congratulated her on her first lap of the field.
The steel bicycles are a symbol of freedom and normalcy. To get out of our overcrowded wards and to reclaim the joy of playing outdoors is a gift. One of our nurses, who saw me watching, came up to my side. “Yes, these new bikes are marvelous. They are really uplifting spirits. Look how determined the young kids are,” she laughed as two kids fought for the same bike. “It’s amazing, isn’t it? These kids have been through so much in their young years, they lie in their beds, but something as simple as a bicycle ride makes things seem good again. We should call this the Pedal patients’ program.”
June 6, 2024
Jolene Kwamboka
Last Tuesday, Joylene celebrated her second birthday in grand style. She gleefully tells everyone it was ‘nice, nice.’ The celebration was graced by Shoe4Africa’s Nurse Betty, Child Life Specialists (CLS), educators, other patients, and even a few surprise visits from the hospital Director, and other members of the administrative team. It was, indeed, a fabulous party if you ask Joylene.
Our dedicated team of educators and CLSs prepared a spectacular cake that Joylene’s mom, Damaris, proudly described as green and white with the words ‘Cocomelon’ (from the famous YouTube cartoon) elegantly written around it. The cake was a delightful balance of fluffy, moist, and spongy. Outside, on the lawn where the birthday party took place, there were plenty of drinks, snacks, games, and music for all the children to enjoy. “The atmosphere was so different you could never tell this is a hospital. I love that about Shoe4Africa,” Damaris shared.
Hospitalization is never by choice, but our hospital, together with our compassionate staff, strives to create a home-like environment for our patients. We reimagine spaces that foster better physical and mental health. Despite these efforts, a hospital remains a place where it can be challenging to fully escape the reality of illness. The mere word causes fright for many and that’s something we work on to address. For instance, Joylene certainly hates medicine and injections. Any sight of scrubs brings about hysterical screams that only her mom can soothe.
Baby Joylene’s struggles with scrubs, injections, and medicine began a month ago when she first arrived at the hospital in a critical state—vomiting, weak, with a lack of motion, a weak neck, a severe headache, and prominent veins on her forehead. Within a day of rigorous tests and observation, she was diagnosed with a brain growth and hydrocephalus, commonly referred to as water in the brain. This condition occurs when an obstruction prevents proper fluid drainage, causing water to build up in the brain’s cavities.
“This was the most bizarre diagnosis I have ever heard,” said Damaris, who still wonders how and why her daughter developed such a condition. Coming from a community with a strong belief in witchcraft, Damaris, whose parents are staunch Seventh Day Adventists, went through phases where she wondered if someone had bewitched her child. “Joylene’s dad and I visited five hospitals, but none could tell us what our child was suffering from. All we saw was that her neck was growing weaker. Joylene started to walk at nine months, and we wondered if she was regressing.”
The day after her proper diagnosis at our hospital, Joylene underwent surgery to drain the excess fluid. A week later, she was recovering well, regaining her balance and motor skills. That’s when the idea for her birthday party took shape. “My husband was stunned when I called to tell him that our daughter was now regaining health instead of worsening, especially since we were growing more convinced that our child was bewitched as every single one of those hospitals could not give us answers,” said Damaris. “He hopped onto the first matatu (14-passenger service vehicle) to Eldoret to witness the party.”
Today, Nurse Betty says Joylene is progressing excellently and should, this week, undergo another surgery to remove the growth. Thereafter, she can recover and finally go home. Meanwhile, Damaris is still enjoying “the overwhelming realization” that her child now has the chance to live to fight another day.
Joylene’s journey is a testament that a hospital should not be a bad scary space, and her recovery inspires us to continue with our mission of providing exceptional care and support to children in need. Again, this hospital was built on the goodness of people like you, who are now helping us to build the new cancer hospital, because here in Kenya as the only public children’s hospital in the entire country, we always have an uphill battle. Thanks for having our backs!
Joylene below
VALENTINE CHEPCHUMBA
About a week ago while making rounds at the hospital, I noticed this girl that was lying sideways in her hospital bed, left elbow firmed against her mattress, as both hands cooperated in knitting a pink piece of rag. “Hm, interesting!” I thought. A quick memory of a time in my early 20s came rushing. My sister had tried to teach me how to knit, but no. Connecting loop to loop or knot to loop, as I believe the craft entails, was too complex an endeavor for me. A few trials, which always ended with my sister frustrated at my insanely poor skill, were enough to let me know that knitting wasn’t for me. Seeing this young girl do it, therefore, intrigued me. I had to go close and see. Was it too late for me to restart my learning? Maybe or maybe not, but that doesn’t matter today.
The 13-year-old knitting pro, Valentine, is a beautiful dark-skinned girl who is somewhere on the lower end of 5ft tall… maybe 5ft 1in or 5ft 2in. She is a charismatic, smiley, and smart little lady, who is very drawn to creative art. One of the art-related things she does is knit things that she gifts to her siblings and school friends. Recently, Valentine decided to start knitting shower clothes for her friends at the hospital. In fact, when I met her, the piece she was working on was for Sharon, a girl 6 beds over from hers. “I like to ask what color they like as well as the shape they’d like for their clothes. This way, I am sure that the person I am knitting it for will like it,” she said.
“How long have you been knitting?” I asked, after noticing how refined her end products and knitting pace were. She definitely had a knack for it. “I started after my first hospital discharge in June 2020,” she said, “and did it full time before I resumed school in July 2021. Because of hospital visits, I am becoming quite efficient at my knitting skills. Why not use my time here if I am bedridden?”
Valentine had been briefly admitted to our hospital, first, in November 2019, and later from February to May 2020, but never again until this year.
Mama Valentine, her mom, as she’s commonly referred to within Ushindi Ward (translates as Prevail, to conquer), says that her daughter’s illness started as an everyday stomachache. After seeking pain medication at a nearby health center, the pain subsided for a few hours before recurring, this time very severely. “I remember very clearly that it was around midnight of November 6, 2019, when the pain abruptly went from zero to critical.” Quickly, amid Valentine’s screams of pain, her father called several neighbors requesting a car ride to the hospital. Four neighbors in, and he got one who was willing to lend them. Quickly, they arrived at our facility. Unfortunately, the 15-minute drive was simply too long. As they drove, her entire lower body from the navel down went into paralysis. Along with the paralysis, came a lack of appetite, and an inability to sit, or relieve herself.
“Your daughter has Guillain-Barré syndrome [GBS – a condition where the immune system attacks the nerves],” Dr. Mildred said to Mama Valentine after several MRIs and a lumbar puncture (a procedure of removing and checking spinal fluid). Two weeks later, she was discharged after the sessions of immunoglobulin therapy, plasma exchange and physiotherapy changed a significant lot. She was finally able to eat, regained the ability to relieve herself unaided, and sit. Later treatments, however, included debridement, a surgical procedure for cleaning wounds because, being confined to bed or her wheelchair, she developed bedsores. In fact, between February and May 2020, the reason why she was back in the hospital was her bedsores. Even today, Mama Valentine says that Valentine has been recovering well, except for the bedsores, which once again, sent her back here.
Mama Valentine fears that “the bedsores might become a trend since Valentine will likely never walk again.” There’s no telling whether or not this will be it, especially given that she is yet to get her daughter a comfortable wheelchair. Being a parent to two other children, she has other responsibilities, which have been difficult to manage especially since she has no source of income, and neither does her husband. Therefore, balancing providing for Valentine and her other children has been challenging. “Sisi ni mahustler tu,” she said, meaning, “We have no source of income, and essentially depend on a day’s luck.”
Her other kids sometimes have to miss school when their dad cannot afford to buy them the mandatory stationery, like a pen or pencil. However, compared to the frustration Mama Valentine feels when she cannot afford to get diapers for Valentine when she is driven to school by their kind neighbor, her other kids’ missing school is no match. But these are struggles she is learning to accept, provided her child continues to get better. Our doctors, led by Dr. Mildred, certainly, have seen to it that Valentine’s life is as easy as they can help make it. Their insistence on checkups, strict adherence to medication, and the regular rounds to check on her whenever she is admitted, have played a key role in Valentine’s ability to crawl on the floor and turn over in bed; things she might never have dreamt of before, otherwise.
Next week, Valentine gets discharged as Dr. Mildred says that the bedsores are well under control. This news is the greatest Valentine has received since this year’s start. She looks forward to being back in school, hoping to catch up as fast as she can, now that she is already three classes behind her age mates. While looping and knotting the last bits of Sharon’s shower cloth, Valentine said, “I am super excited to open school this coming month with the rest of my friends. I cannot wait to get back to my divisions, subtractions, and additions!”
Often when something is taken away the will to get it back is greater. Another healed patient and a patient who has used her time wisely on homed in on her knitting skills – smart Valentine!
