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Disaster strikes Kenyan Mother in Boston, seeks help
By Harrison Maina, Ajabu Africa News

BRAINTREE, Mass. , FEBRUARY 23_A Kenyan mother in Boston whose house is in the process of repossession was struck by tragedy when she suffered a massive stroke that left her entire left side paralyzed, and her five-year old son in the care of family members.  

Maggie Kimani, populary known as Mama KK with two nurses taking care of her, Heather Billings and Anthony Kabuga, at the Braintree Rehabilitation centre . Maggie suffered a massive stroke towards the end of last year.

The unexpected illness hit Magiie Kimani,popularly known as Mama KK, on the evening of Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at her home in Randolph, as she was preparing dinner for her son and a friend who had visited. 

"Fortunately, the friend is a healthcare worker and quickly recognized the symptoms of a stroke. He immediately called 911,” said Jane Kibaiya, cousin of Magiie.

“It looks like Dan was an Angel sent from above otherwise we cannot imagine what would have happened if Maggie was alone with her child,” added Jane.

Emergency crews arrived in a matter of minutes and performed first aid to Maggie who was then rushed to Milton hospital. She was later transferred to Brigham and Women’s hospital later that night where doctors performed an urgent brain surgery to save her life.

Maggie remained on life support system for several weeks but has since regained consciousness and remains paralyzed on her left side. She is currently at the Braintree Rehabilitation centre undergoing a rehabilitation therapy.

“She is doing an amazing recovery. We have taken her off the feeding tubes, and she can eat regular foods now,” said Heather Billings, Maggie’s speech therapist at the Braintree Rehab.

Billings added that Kimani is now working to regain higher level cognitive and problem solving skills and that the only major thing needed now was some financial help to keep up with other accruing fees that are not covered by the insurance.

Even with the desperate situation, Maggie is fortunate to be under the care of one of her fellow Kenyan who is the supervising nurse on her unit and has helped boost her moral support in addition to the professional care she is getting.

“Medically, she is stable,” said Anthony Kabuga, the male nurse taking charge of Maggie’s treatment. “We have taken out the tracheotomy and we shall be replacing the missing part that was taken out of her skull during the surgery soon,” added Kabuga during an interview with Ajabu Africa.com on a visit to the patient last week.

During the interview, Maggie was still wearing a medical helmet that protects her brain as part of the skull was removed due to the swelling of her brain. This will be replaced in the near future after the doctors’ assessment shows reduction in the swelling of her brain as well as reduce risk of recurring swelling.

At the time of the visit, Maggie was alert and in high spirits.

“I hope I can get out of here soon,” she told this AjabuAfrica news reporter.

With her stay at Braintree rehab coming to an end and pending long term rehabilitation at a less expensive setting, Maggie will not have a home to go to. Attempts by family and friends to save her home have been futile.

“She might be sent to a skilled nursing home to enable more rehabilitation,” said Kibaiya, flanked by Maggie's 63 year old mother who had flown into the country to be with her ailing daughter.

According to family and friends, Maggie needs some urgent financial help to take care of her treatment needs and her escalating domestic bills. She needs to sustain her five-year old child who is currently in the care of family members and pay for unforeseen medical bills not covered by her health insurance.

Additionally, she needs funds to extend her medical insurance for a minimum of one year as her return to work in the foreseeable future is unknown.

Once out of the nursing home, Kimani will also need some cash to pay rent for a while hoping that she will recover fully to return to work.

“We are appealing for help from the Kenyan community in Massachusetts and out of state to come to the aid of this ailing young mother,” said Jane.

“This can happen without warning to anyone out there. Let us help this mother and let us learn from her case so we can avoid such situations because they are avoidable,” said Kabuga, the charge nurse.

Kabuga, a registered nurse, said that many Kenyans in the USA are not paying enough attention to their health, which leads to complications such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer and many more.

Kabuga added that diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure can easily lead to stroke and hypertension if not managed carefully.

“People need to exercise, avoid fatty foods that have high cholesterol and adhere strictly to a healthy diet devoid of excess sugars,” warned Kabuga.

The planned fundraising in aid of Kimani will take place at the International House of God church on 205 Elm Street, Braintree, Ma, on Sunday March 14th, 2010 beginning at 3pm.

Well wishers can also deposit funds or make online transfers to:
Bank of America
Name: Margaret Kimani
Account #:0046-3091-5121
Zip code: 02368

For more info, contact
Jane Kibaiya           : (617) - 312- 0060
Anastasia Wanjiru  : (781) 985 - 6726
Wambui Kibaiya     : (617) 529 - 1845

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