For seven months now, Alphonse Matata has not seen his family after he moved from his Kiwalwa village in Taveta to Voi town in Taita Taveta County to attend his dialysis sessions at Moi County Referral Hospital.
His nine months of tribulations seeking treatment for his kidney disease has robbed the 25-year-old of his dreams and drained his and his family’s finances.
When we caught up with him at the renal unit on Thursday for an interview, he told us he regretted the financial strain on his family and his separation from his loved ones.
A year ago, he recalled, he used to wake up every day and work on his farm to eke out a living.
Dreaming of becoming a mechanic, the class eight dropout had saved Sh12,000 to join a garage in Mombasa where he hoped to be trained and later start his career.
"My dreams were short-lived because I fell sick and used all the money for my treatment," he said.
"I used to do labour-intensive jobs, so I thought that could be the reason for my swelling and pain," he narrated.
After visiting a local dispensary and later a nearby hospital, he was misdiagnosed with a stomach problem.
For the next month, his situation worsened and medics there referred him to Taveta Sub-County Hospital for further check-ups.
At the Taveta hospital, he was then sent to a laboratory outside the facility for tests.
"When the doctor saw my test results, he broke the news that my kidneys had failed and I needed specialised treatment," he said.
Mr Matata said he was immediately referred to Moi County Referral Hospital in Voi where further diagnosis confirmed his condition, which required him to immediately start dialysis.
The news left him startled and in despair. The diagnosis came as a big shock not just to him but also his family.
Without knowing what lay ahead, he kicked the journey to restore his health.
With no renal unit in Taveta, Mr Matata, who hails from Mata ward, had to travel to Moi Referral twice a week for dialysis.
He said his father used to pay Sh2,000 for his fare every week but the financial burden became too heavy for him.
His family allowed him to look for a house in Voi to ease the transport burden, and after talking to his friend he agreed to accommodate him.
"The house rent is Sh1,000 so we share the cost equally. Sometimes, I lack money for my meals and I am under a special diet," he said.
"It hurts me because I have now been reduced to a beggar. I used to fend for myself but now I can't," he said.
Although the disease is a great health, he said, it has not killed his faith and hope for a better tomorrow.
He hopes that one day he will start a business, get married and have children.
As he recounted his treatment journey, he said his world has been turned upside down but he hoped to one day come out victorious.
"I have tried to ask the doctors what could have caused my kidneys to fail but I have not received any explanation. I have never been hypertensive or diabetic and no one in our family has ever suffered from this disease," he said.
His sessions start in the afternoon but he starts his walk to the hospital in the morning to avoid the scorching sun that might affect his blood pressure.
"This journey is not easy. Although I feel better than how I was last year, sometimes I feel depressed because I don't know what will happen tomorrow," he said.
The county government is establishing a second renal unit at Taveta Sub-County Hospital to offer relief for patients with kidney complications.
"This is good news to those who have to use public transport to come here for treatment. We will no longer have to travel here and the expenses will be minimal," he said.
Health executive John Mwakima said the centre is expected to save kidney patients in Taveta the agony of travelling hundreds of kilometres to seek dialysis services at Moi Referral.
"We have already deployed personnel to the Taveta unit. We just concluded quality tests on the machines and water to be used for dialysis at the Kenya Government Chemist," he said.
Mr Mwakima said the hospital is grappling with an increased demand for dialysis services from patients across the county.
He said the existing renal unit is overwhelmed by the large number of patients and sometimes they refer some who need immediate dialysis services to facilities outside the county.
Before the facility opened in 2016, many patients used to get their services outside the county.
Mr Mwakima said the county government will hire more doctors, nurses, biomedical engineers and other specialists as they seek to expand the services.
The new facility comes as health experts in the county sound the alarm over the high number of diabetes and hypertension cases in the area.
The county nephrologist, Dr Heriberto Roda, attributed the high number of patients with kidney complications to the high cases of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the county.
He said NCD patients are at a higher risk of suffering kidney failure if they do not get proper treatment for a long time.
"There is a need to create awareness on the importance of taking a balanced diet and exercise to prevent the rise of such diseases among locals," he said.
The Cuban doctor said some patients with kidney complications also suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure and even cancer and stressed the need for the government to roll out a programme to address the problem.
