A man from Meru, Francis Kinyua, is calling on wellwishers to help him raise medical funds after his wife gave birth to triplets: a boy and two conjoined girls.
Kinyua’s wife, Evelyn Njoki, delivered the triplets on Friday at Nyambene Hospital before they were referred to KNH for specialised care.
The girls were born with two heads on one torso, a rare form of partial twinning known as dicephalic parapagus.
Notably, this is the second time Kinyua is getting conjoined offspring. In October 2007, his first wife delivered a baby conjoined with an undeveloped twin – often called a parasitic twin.
The dominant twin underwent separation surgery but she developed complications that left her paralysed.
“I do not know what to do. I am stressed and confused. As we speak, my 15-year-old daughter is in need of Sh700,000 for an operation because she cannot walk. She developed a wound in 2009 after the operation but it healed this year,” Kinyua told the Nation.
Kinyua told the publication that his first wife fled when the girl’s medical condition became more demanding.
“I remarried last year after raising my daughter alone for more than 10 years. We were expecting triplets on December 23. However, when she went to Nyambene Hospital, she had to undergo a Caesarean section earlier,” Kinyua said.
Ms Njoki on her part said ultrasound scans done at six months of her pregnancy indicated that she was carrying healthy triplets.
“When I came to the clinic at six months, I was informed that the babies were okay. I am now appealing to well-wishers to come to my aid because I cannot afford the medical costs needed.”
Dr Ephraim Ndumba, a medical officer at Nyambene Level Four Hospital, said the girls were in stable condition.
“There is a need to evaluate conjoined girls to establish whether they can be separated. They will seek to establish whether the heart, stomach and other organs are shared,” added Dr Wachira Githu, the medical officer for Igembe South.
“Such cases are referred to as biological accidents but can also be a result of genetic deformity. In this case, we suspect a genetic deformity because the father has sired conjoined twins in the past.”
Kinyua and his wife appealed to well-wishers to help them raise money for his firstborn daughter and the triplets’ medical care. His phone number, which he allowed to be published, is 0725081717.
