When Beatrice Onsongo, learnt that she was pregnant with her third child, she was overwhelmed with joy.

Like many mothers, she looked forward to the day her bundle of joy would be nestled in her arms, giving her the feeling of outpouring love.

However, when the day came, it was nowhere close to her expectations.

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“My six months old son Jayden Ototi, started suffering from the day I gave birth to him. My son was 4.5kg at the time of birth which raised a concern to the doctors who suggested a c section birth. But by God’s grace, I managed to have normal delivery.”

According to Beatrice, the doctors informed her that she strained pushing the baby out, which affected the child.

In an effort to save him, medics at Bondeni maternity put the child on oxygen for seven days.

“While my son was in the oxygen he would convulse until the seventh day when there was great improvement and later we were discharged,” she painfully recalls.

Three months after this heart-breaking ordeal, Beatrice noticed a strange behaviour with her son.

She says Jayden would cry uncontrollably at times up to seven hours. Nothing could be done to console the child.

As a single mother who had raised children before, Beatrice immediately knew something was awfully wrong.

“I rushed my son to Nakuru level five hospital, where I was advised to take him for an X ray which costs Sh 10,000. I could not raise the money so the X ray was not done.”

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Her son’s situation got her going from one hospital to another looking for a cheaper option. Luckily, through her family’s support she managed to have the X-ray done in Migori Hospital.

“This is when I got the most devastating news that my son has a brain tumour. On top of that, I need Sh 200,000 for the medical procedure required to remove the tumour,” she notes with despair in her face.

Unable to raise the money, Beatrice says her son has been surviving on drugs to ease the pain.

In the meantime, she has opted to work as a cook in St Pauls Primary hoping to raise some money for the drugs which she says are equally expensive.

This she says has kept her from acting on suicidal thoughts that have at times invaded her mind.

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“If I could get a permanent job, it would assist me to secure a loan and take my son for that surgery as well as take care of my other two children,” she concludes.
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Nakuru woman settles for cooking job to raise money for son's brain tumour surgery

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Winnie Kimani