This is a guest post by John Mburu Kinyanjui.
Hi.
My name is John Mburu Kinyanjui: Long story short- 2016 was dynamic and life changing: was single, got married to Jeniffer Nyambura Kamande and became a parent. As eager and excited first time parents, we started the pre natal clinics quite early; our joy was compounded when the doctor informed us that we were expecting twins.
In the early weeks of the pregnancy as we attended pre natal clinic sessions, our gynecologist detected disparity in the growth of the twin babies and recommended close monitoring. This meant the frequency of clinic visits and fetal scans increased from monthly to fortnightly and eventually, weekly. We religiously continued with these weekly fetal scans with the help of highly specialized scanners.
On 30th November 2016 as we attended what had already become a routine fetal scan, the results confirmed our worst fears; one of the twins had a complication, a reversed Doppler flow, hence slow growth as she was not receiving sufficient nutrients. The twins were sharing the placenta. The doctors explained to us the implication and advised that delivering the babies within 24 hours was the surest way to save their lives. Ultimately, the decision was ours to make and at about 7.00pm we heeded to the doctors advice. Jeniffer was taken into theatre for an emergency caesarian section. We thank God because the operation was successful and at 10.25pm we were blessed with twin blessings. The twins Rani Ciru Mburu and Rina Kui Mburu were born three months premature. At birth Ciru weighed 1100 grams while Kui weighed 710 grams. These angels had to be admitted immediately to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (N-ICU).
Three days after Ciru and Kui were born, Jeniffer had to be discharged, to recuperate at home while the babies were still admitted at the N-ICU. Of course she couldn’t rest well with our babies in hospital. We spent our days at the hospital and left for home in the evening. Soon we established our routine, we would both leave home at 7:00am go to the hospital, where I would leave Jeniffer and go to work. In the evening I would go back to the hospital, bond with the babies and leave for home at around 9:00pm. The initial days were hard because apart from low birth weight, pre term babies have other issues such as oxygen intake and saturation as the lungs are not fully developed.
It has been a tough journey; we have learnt to take one day at a time, some days were hard and we had good days: Seeing them grow in size and holding them, celebrating every step of improvement. An additional gram means so much to us. We held Ciru 15 days after birth and waited for 51 days to hold Kui. Ciru breastfed 45 days after birth. Kui is yet to breastfeed however she is taking breast milk with the help of a feeding tube.
The doctors and the nurses to ensure that they are stable have done a lot of work. Our hearts go out to the many parents who are going through similar challenges. Questions that keep coming to our minds: What if we were in the village? Would there have been fetal specialists to take a Doppler scan/study? How about the scanner, oxygen and oxygen saturation monitors? How about functioning incubators, X-Ray machines and other highly specialized equipments? If these items were available in all counties, would my cost have been lower?
The doctors and the nurses have worked hard and diligently, my wife has camped beside them all this time and on 24th January, Ciru was discharged from hospital and is suckling well. Kui has been transferred from the N-ICU to the High Dependency unit. The hospital management has been very understanding and helpful, by agreeing to discharge Ciru thereby helping minimize escalation of the hospital bill. Kui will soon be discharged from hospital and I am writing this in extreme need of financial help to help us clear the hospital bill which currently stands at Kes 7 Million.
We request for your financial support through you networks and influence to help us take our babies home debt free.
You can help get Rani Ciru & Rina Kui home by chopping off the 7 million bill with your contribution.
Mpesa Paybill 558697
Account Ciru or Kui
OR
Bank: ABC Bank
Account Name: John Mburu & Jeniffer Nyambura
Account Number: 001108001004740
Branch: Westlands
Thank you and God bless you.
John and Jeniffer Mburu