Millicent Okoth Odhambo is in pain as she is stuck with a hand inside her stomach due to an incomplete surgical procedure occasioned by the ongoing doctor’s strike.
Millicent gets into an accident at Globe roundabout
The young lady, who worked as a househelp, was admitted to the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) on February 18, 2024, after a grisly road accident at the Globe roundabout when she was going for her off days.
“An ambulance came and carried us to KNH, and the medical procedures started as soon as we were in the hospital. They removed the dirt from my hand as it had been lying on the ground,” said Okoth.
What is the abdominal flap?
“Once the dirt was removed, they noticed that the tendons had been badly damaged while i was lying on the road and they started the procedure to repair them. After cleaning the area, the abdominal flap procedure was started to grow the tendons so that my hand could resume its function later on,” she added.
According to Science Direct, an abdominal pedicle flap is used to reconstruct the dorsal aspect of the hand and wrist following a deep contact burn.
An “extension” of the flap from the abdomen at the time of flap division is harvested and utilized to cover an adjacent defect in the fingers.
When the procedure was completed for young Millicent, her hand was preserved by being sewn on her stomach.
Millicent’s hand sewn on the stomach
“My tendons were to grow over three weeks, but it has now been seven weeks, and they are still growing; it is very painful for me, I don’t know what to do,” lamented Millicent.
“Last time I checked, the bill was KSh 300,000, and it is still escalating. I wish I could get some money to go and have the hand removed from my stomach in a private hospital or even at the KNH private wing, which is still working,” she added.
Millicent came to the city to work as a househelp so that she could provide for her dear mum and the kids who had been left in the village.
That means she doesn’t have anybody to look after her in the hospital.
“I was discharged a long time ago but do not have anywhere to go; Iam just here and the nurses have just given me a place to stay, but the pain is too much, ” said Millicent.
“I can’t go all the way to Siaya with my hand sewn on the stomach as my medical history is here, and the procedure was started here. My appeal is for the doctors and the government to end the impasse and talk so that we can be treated and go back home,” she added.
Millicent’s family, which does not have another breadwinner, is really suffering at the moment. She is pleading with well-wishers to help her raise the bill and also money needed to get treatment at another hospital.