Karen Hospital co-founder Dr Betty Gikonyo (right) presents a copy of her autobiography The Girl Who Dared to Dreamat Moi Kabarak High School in Nakuru on June 13, 2015. PHOTO | SULEIMAN MBATIAH
That all dreams are valid is something Dr Gikonyo knows very well. Drawing from her life experiences, she has seen how the great the power of a dream can be.
Her example is easy to identify with — as a rural child who couldn’t speak proper English and couldn’t understand her Scottish teachers, causing her to perform dismally.
Growing up in a generation where parents insisted they all topped their classes, Dr Gikonyo admits to coming last and gives practical lessons of how to get ahead. Forming strategic friendships with people she knew would help actualize her dream.
When surgeons turn writers, most will tell stories of their exemplary grade-lined-road that led them to the theatre. They tell of their exploits, of playing God, and of performing miracles on their patients while telling personal stories that border on intrusion into their patients’ privacy.
Yet throughout The Girl Who Dared to Dream, Dr Betty Muthoni Gikonyo, CEO and founder of the Karen Hospital, retains her childlike wonder that makes the reader feel as if they are on a fun-filled adventure, which is all the more surprising since she actually reaches great career heights, makes a difference to so many and outperforms many of those who may have been ahead.
