In between the routine patients, standard surgeries, and minor problems which color the background of my work at Kijabe come patients with heart-wrenching stories, difficult problems, and occasionally triumphs.
The patient featured below (and the first case of the video above) was a pedestrian hit by a bus last year. She suffered injuries to her lungs, and was on the ventilator for over a week recovering. A few months after leaving the hospital (a small triumph in itself) she came to my clinic with difficulty breathing. Her trachea had been unknowingly injured during her time on the ventilator and was scarring closed. By the time we made it to theatre, she had about 2mm of space through which to breathe. I placed a tracheostomy (a breathing tube through the neck) and dilated the stenosed portion of the trachea. Over the subsequent months her airway continued to scar closed despite dilations. Throughout this time she was unable to talk- understandably a devastating injury. We eventually decided that it was time for a tracheal resection (removal of the closed portion of the trachea).
The surgery and recovery are risky in well-equipped US hospitals. I don’t know if one has been done in Kijabe before. By God’s grace she recovered without incident, and I was able to remove her trach two weeks later in clinic. Disbelief filled her countenance when I removed the trach for the first time in over 8 months and she was able to take a deep breath through her mouth. Her voice came out clear and strong in a way that shocked her. She insisted we take a picture to capture the moment.
She isn’t totally out of the woods- the trachea can sometimes start to narrow at the surgical site weeks to months after surgery- but none of my cautions dampened her spirit that day in clinic. She was quick to glorify God for His provisions and His healing, and I have to agree that it is only by God’s grace we were able to get her talking again.
Kenya Hear 
Amazing story! She was certainly blessed when God led her to you.
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