• Gertrude's Children Hospital refused to release Kimani's body over a Sh17.8 million bill.
• The hospital released the boy's body last Tuesday, talks to begin on clearing the bill.
Image: COURTESY
After waiting for four months, the family of Brian Kimani, 13, was given 45 minutes to bury the body of their son.
But that was just enough to give his family the closure they badly longed for having held a memorial service three months ago.
In a short church service and a few tributes from close relatives and friends, Kimani was finally buried in Ndenderu, Kiambu county. That was six days after Gertrude’s Children Hospital released his body.
“The government has given us 45 minutes to bury our son due to the coronavirus issue with only a few people allowed to attend,” his father Stephen Kimani told the Star.
He said that despite the short time allowed, the family would be at peace knowing their son’s body has been laid to rest.
“It is comforting to know we finally have given him a proper send off. We needed that closure," he said.
The hospital agreed to release the body after the family had begged for months. It was agreed the talks on paying the bill would be put on hold for two weeks until after the burial.
But then talks would be held on exactly how the bill would be settled.
“We shall have the next meeting on June 29 with the hospital management, but our son now rests in peace, dressed in his favourite Jodhpuri suit and the casket we had paid for months ago,” he said.
Brian’s memorial service became the first funeral ceremony to be held at St Stephen's ACK in Gatuikira on March 11, without a body and with no immediate hope of getting it.
Brian died on February 29 after a long illness that drained all the family's resources. After two rejected bone marrow transplants, he developed a fatal liver infection.
In April 2018, the boy was diagnosed with leukaemia, cancer of the blood.
He was taken to India for a bone-marrow transplant after extensive treatment proved ineffective.
However, Brian's body rejected the new bone marrow because of the many chemicals in his body from the previous treatment, doctors explained.
A second transplant was done and Brian’s frail body eventually accepted his father’s bone marrow. He got back to his feet, slowly. He went home.
Four months after that second transplant, Brian's body rejected the second transplant.
“He had a terrible reaction, he got a liver infection and he was admitted again at Gertrude's Hospital ICU last September until his death," his father said.
The bill in India over nine months was Sh12 million for transport to and from India, accommodation, meals, treatment and two bone marrow transplants.
Brian’s medical bill at Gertrude’s for treating the rejection and liver infection cost more than Sh18 million in less than six months.
Brian developed graft versus host disease (GvHD), a condition that occurs when donor bone marrow or stem cells attack the recipient.
The family made all the burial plans, including a memorial service at St Stephen's ACK, in Ndenderu where the family lives.
Gertrude's refused to release the body over the huge bill.
The family decided to proceed with a virtual burial, awaiting the hospital's decision.
“The burial does not make the pain any lighter, but it gives us peace and strength to move forward,” Kimani's father said.
(Edited by V. Graham)