The life of Collins Kiprono took a crashing fall on December 26, 2007 a day that will forever remain stamped in his mind.
For the last seventeen years, Kiprono, a resident of Telanet village within Ainamoi sub-county in Kericho, has been living with two bullets lodged in his chest cavity after he was hit by stray bullets in Kericho town as police were dispersing demonstrators during the 2007/2008 post- election violence.
With each passing day, he has to reconcile with the fact that the bullets could not be removed as doctors at Kericho County Referral Hospital, where he was rushed to and admitted shortly after being shot, confirmed that any operation to extract them would result in his death.
In an interview with KNA at his home, the father of three said his health has been deteriorating over the years and any attempt to perform heavy duties as he struggles to provide for his family is taking a heavy toll on his health.
Kiprono, 40- years old, is now seeking help from well-wishers and the government to raise school fees for his young children as well as meet his medical needs.
“My breathing is laboured and now for the last four years, when I engage in heavy tasks like digging my small shamba or carrying heavy loads, I always cough blood. I cannot stand up straight immediately I wake up in the morning. When the weather is cold, I have to wait for some time for my back muscles to relax on their own before I can stand up and walk. I cannot sell my small parcel of land because this is the only place I have to live and it is a gift from my late grandfather to my mother who raised us alone before she passed on in 2003 from cancer,” narrated Kiprono.
Before the unfortunate event, Kiprono was a farmer and supplied maize and beans to major outlets in Kericho to earn a living but his ill health forced him to discontinue the venture.
He ventured into maize roasting at Kapsoit Trading center, which he does with his wife. It is now their main source of income.
A distraught Kiprono adds that his earnings from maize roasting have been insufficient to run his family and meet other needs and as a result, he has defaulted on his National Hospital Insurance Fund NHIF contributions, increasing his challenges in meeting his medical expenses.
“From July 2013, I defaulted on my monthly NHIF contributions. I used to do casual work on villagers’ farms and the wages I would get paid would all go to feeding my young family of three. My first-born daughter is in Form One, my second daughter is in Grade Six while my son is in PPI Class. I have school fees arrears amounting to Sh30,000 and I have no idea how I will offset these school fees balances,” he added.
Worried about his life, Kiprono hopes well-wishers will help him raise enough funds to see his children through their education in meeting his medical expenses.
“Being a class eight dropout, I have dreams of my children growing up to a better future,” said Kiprono.
Kiprono, the first born in a family of three, narrates the events that led to him living with two bullets in his body so clearly like it happened yesterday. He says he had paid a visit to his grandmother’s home at Kipchimchim village in the outskirts of Kericho town and decided to walk to Kericho town while heading back to his home.
On reaching Kericho town, he met a crowd of people along the Kericho-Kisumu highway near Hass Petrol station and was unsure of what was going on but the sight of armed police officers made him realise that all was not well and he immediately started running away though unsure of where he was going.
Kiprono continues to narrate that he suddenly started sweating profusely with unusual body weakness like having cold water poured on him without warning.
He could see blood on his shirt, which was now torn, a sight that made him cry for help from where he was lying on the pavement near the Kericho County Referral Hospital Mortuary, a stone-throw away from the Hass Petrol station.
Good Samaritans rushed him to the Kericho County Referral Hospital Mortuary using the mortuary entrance. He was immediately taken for an operation and later admitted to a ward at the facility.
He was admitted for three days before being discharged but with the bullets still lodged in his chest as doctors maintained that any operation would result in his death.
“I came to know that I was shot and two bullets were lodged in my chest from the doctors attending to me while I was admitted at the Hospital and I still could not believe that they could not remove them,” said Kiprono.
Kiprono further narrated that he opted to seek a second opinion at Tenwek Mission Hospital in Bomet County where an x-ray conducted confirmed his worst fears that any operation to remove the bullets would be very risky.
A medical discharge summary dated January 17, 2008 from the medical facility confirmed that he has bullets lodged in his chest. It states, ‘that a gunshot wound to the right chest retained the bullet.’
The doctors advised him to attend medical checkups on a regular basis, a thing Kiprono admits he has not been committed to, due to his low income.
His 32- year- old wife Caroline Chepkoech revealed that she met Kiprono in 2010 and is worried about his mental and physical health.
“My husband is the family’s breadwinner and he has given up all hope and these days he prefers to remain silent for long periods during the day and I am not used to his changed behaviour but it is my prayer that help will come our way,” said Chepkoech.
The family can be reached on 0711 868834 or 0723 401633.
By Sarah Njagi
