The conjoined twins separated at Kenyatta National Hospital have been released from hospital almost three years after admission. Blessing Kathure and Favour Karimi were admitted to the Specialised Surgical Paediatric Ward on September 5, 2014.
The two left for Meru on Thursday, June 15 after they were officially discharged. The two-year-old girls born in 2014 were conjoined at the sacral region of the lower spinal cord. It took a team of 60 doctors to separate the girls in 23 hours, the first ever successful surgery done in Kenya.
Their mother, Caroline Mukiri, is optimistic the two girls will have a brighter future as they headed to Meru, making it the second time they have left the hospital after celebrating Valentines on February 14, 2017 at the Nairobi Animal Orphanage.
“I am very happy; I can’t explain my happiness,” said Mukiri. “I came here crying and now I leave with joy. May God give the doctors who attended to my children more knowledge to help more people.”
They were taken to Meru in an ambulance filled with all their possessions but doctors said they will keep following up on their progress.
“We are now moving to the next stage with them,” said Joel Lessan, a consultant pediatric surgeon who was part of the team.
“We will monitor their weight, height, body tissue, spine, legs and internal organs to ensure everything is okay. We expect to review them in six weeks.” The hospital bill, amounting to over KSh5 million, was paid by KNH and the national health insurer, National Hospital Insurance Fund.
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