Doctors attending to 7-year-old, Caleb Odanga who fell from a merry-go-round swing while on a school trip are advising his parents to withdraw life support as there is no chance of the boy surviving.
Caleb is fighting for his life at the Kenyatta University Teaching and Referral Hospital (KUTTRH) under the intensive care unit (ICU).
The doctors said the boy’s situation is irreversible and explained to the parents that their son has no realistic chance of recovering and no medical interventions will reverse the situation.
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The family of the boy that resides in Githurai 44 is pleading for justice saying their boy was involved in an accident on a school trip.
In an appraisal by two independent doctors, the medics concurred that Caleb was unlikely to recover from the coma, hence it was only good for the family to give consent for withdrawal of life support.
”He is not breathing in the right way…from Tuesday we have discussed with the doctors, and they said they have reached a dead end because the brain is damaged,” Stephen Maina Githua, a relative said.
However, Caleb’s parents are adamant about giving consent saying they will not send their son to the grave yet he left home alive.
“If I sign that (form), it means I am sending my son to the grave,” Mwangi Odanga, his father said.
The family emotionally recounted how doctors told them that their son had negligible chances of surviving.
Similarly, medics explained to the family that Caleb was unlikely to regain the capacity of rational existence.
Clinging to Hope
However, the father of the boy said they will hang on to the last hope, adding that they will seek a second opinion for their son.
“It is our conviction that there is still hope and we are appealing we get an expert because we can’t sign a form that our son is no more,” Odanga told the press.
“In our hearts we don’t want our child to die, but to get treated and healed,” his grandfather Maina Githua said.
Caleb Odanga a grade one pupil, was involved in a tragic accident while on a school rip and parents want the school to address the situation as the boy was in their hands during the time of the accident.
On the other hand, the management of Destiny Gardens said that all their facilities, including the merry-go-round, were safe.
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“It was a very unfortunate incident…The machine has all the safety measures…the instructor was present, and he ensured everything was okay,” John Njuguna, the Director, noted.
Caleb’s family is now clinging to the last hope as their son fights for his life in a comatose state for days now.