Man donates kidney to save life of his brother

Wycliffe Chebon, 24, was in and out of hospital for four years battling tuberculosis. His family and friends spent about Sh15 million.

The battle seemed lost when both his kidneys failed. But up stepped his brother, Edwin Komen, 33.

Komen, whose family lives in Baringo county, recalls vividly the bold decision he made in February 2019.

“I kept the secret strictly between me and God,” Komen told the Star during a visit to their home in Kiptororo estate, Kabarnet town, Baringo Central subcounty, on Tuesday.

“I didn't even share with my family or close friends in case they discouraged me from saving my brother’s life.”

Today, his lastborn brother Chebon, who was then critically sick, not only respects him as his elder brother but also accords him the greatest honour as a dear friend for giving him a new lease of life.

Their father Benjamin Komen, 70, can also afford a smile, although diabetic, at seeing all his eight children including Chebon healthy and happy even after exhausting much of the family's resources to pay ballooning hospital bills.

He said he was willing to donate his own kidney but due to his diabetic status, doctors did not recommend it.

Komen said all his children have finished schooling up to college but none of them currently has formal employment. “I have sold everything, including animals, to support friends' contributions in paying medical bills,” he said.

Chebon’s sickness gave his mother Jane Komen high blood pressure. She fell sick and died in March 2019, barely a month after Wycliffe underwent a successful kidney transplant at Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi.

Komen, the hero of the family, said he decided to spend his lifetime with one right-side kidney as long as he succeeded in dispelling the family’s and friends’ bundles of stress of fundraising frequently to meet his sick brother’s hospital bills.

“To me, nothing is fulfilling in life like seeing all my members of family, neighbours and friends coexisting healthily and happily,” he said.

ILLNESS JOURNEY

Chebon said he was a born stammerer and children used to mimic and laugh at him while he was at primary school.

“I used to be stigmatised, stressed and hate myself. Sometimes I could leave home then to go hide in the bush until evening just to avoid facing my bully age mates. The situation might have culminated in blood pressure,” he said.

His sickness started back in August 2016, when he was left with only a week to sit his KCSE exam at Kaptimbor Day School in Kabarnet town.

He suddenly developed some slight headache, body weakness, fever and low blood pressure before he was suddenly admitted at the county referral hospital, Kabarnet, where he was diagnosed with tuberculosis.

“I was then forced to sit my examination in the hospital although I was feeling so sickly and weak,” he said.

Immediately after exams, his condition worsened as he developed swollen legs and massive weight loss before he was rushed to St Luke Private Hospital, Eldoret, and later to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, Eldoret, where doctors diagnosed him with renal failure.

He was admitted to the ICU for three weeks and transfused with blood 21 times before he was put on a dialysis machine.

His condition later worsened and he was referred to Kenyatta Hospital, Nairobi, where doctors tested and confirmed all his kidneys had failed.

They recommended an urgent kidney transplant or else the patient could easily lose his life.

Chebon was then left with no option but to hopelessly fight for his life in hospital, until his ‘God-sent’ brother Edwin offered to donate one of his kidneys to save his life.

After the kidney transplant, Komen said he just used simple painkillers and then underwent routine periodical health checkups.

“I thank God so far, for close to three years, I am enjoying good health like anybody else,” he said.

APPEAL

After the successful kidney transplant, Komen, who is a Diploma holder in electrical engineering, is jobless. He only does menial jobs to fend for his sick brother and ageing father.

Although his brother Wycliffe has survived and regained health, he is on palliative care, where he is forced to take medication for a lifetime to cross-match the foreign kidney with his body system.

“Per month, he spends almost Sh30,000 on drugs and yet I am jobless, so he still relies on family and friends to meet the cost of constant medication,” he said.

Komen, therefore, appeals for the introduction of palliative care into the government NHIF scheme, so that cancer or kidney patients like his brother can be catered for.

Despite his condition, Chebon has managed to explore his music talent and has so far composed more than 15 gospel songs, which he wishes to market and sell to cater for the high cost of drugs.

Besides his health condition, he has also pursued and completed basic ICT training.

He, therefore, appeals to the government or a well-wisher to offer him at least a light job to start off his life.