Single Dad Says He Raised Daughter Alone After Wife Passed: "I Gave Her My Kidney but She Couldn't Make It"
- The first-day Mikevans Juma met Esther Njoki, she told him that she had a problem with her kidneys
- This did not deter the smitten man from marrying the love of his life, and together they were blessed with a beautiful baby girl
- However, the wife soon began to have severe challenges with her kidneys nine months after her daughter was born
- Determined to do life with her, Mike decided to give her his kidney to prolong her life and ease her suffering
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When Mikevans Juma met the love of his life Esther Njoki, she mentioned that she had been battling a kidney condition. This, however, did not stop the smitten man from marrying her.
Source: UGC
He said he was determined to find the best treatment for the woman he loved and live a happy life together.
Bundle of joy
The happy couple soon became pregnant and was blessed with a bouncing baby girl named Princess. The family was excited about the new addition and were doting on her every little milestone.
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Nine months into parenting, Juma's wife became seriously ill.
"Her kidney had gotten worse and her pressure went up. We went to the hospital and she was put on dialysis treatment every twice a week," Juma told Briefly News in a phone interview.
Dialysis is cleaning up the blood by removing excess water and other toxins from the blood. This is specifically performed on people whose kidneys are unable to function well.
The couple spent a lot of money every week to get Njoki the dialysis. It was also taking a toll on her. So the couple decided to look for a donor to improve her quality of life and end the dialysis suffering.
Juma donates kidney to his wife
Juma decided to be Njoki's donor. He was determined to see his wife get better so they could raise their family together.
On April 2 2019, the couple walked into the hospital for the procedure. It was successful. They were thrilled that they now had a whole future ahead of them.
"My wife also improved and we were very excited. However, four months later she became seriously ill again. This time she got admitted into the ICU. Test results showed that she had a blood clot that caused the new kidney to stop functioning," he said.
The wife's condition gradually improved, and the two even began to plan for her discharge from the hospital. Juma says he went home very happy that day, having fed his wife and talked about seeing her the following day.
He checked on his toddler daughter, who also needed his attention at home now that the mom was away at the hospital.
The dreaded phone call
But later that day, at 2 am, Juma received a phone call from a doctor informing him that his wife's condition had gotten worse and she had been put back into the ICU. He panicked. Shortly after, his father in law called him, telling him that the doctors wanted to speak to him.
"Right there and then I felt that something was not right. I began to shake. On getting to the hospital, I was informed that my wife had passed. I cried like a baby. I had done everything to keep her healthy. I had given my everything. I didnt imagine that this would happen to me," he told Briefly News.
The heartbroken dad took on the role of being a mom and dad to his slightly over one-year-old daughter.
Keeping her memories alive
He also keeps his wife's memories alive by showing his daughter pictures of Njoki and telling stories about her. Princess is now four years old.
Juma says that his greatest joy has been coming home from work to find his daughter waiting for him in all smiles. He said that this keeps him going.
Juma carries the young Princess on his back when going to the market to buy groceries and says that the neighbours love seeing them together.
Vying for MCA seat in Umoja 1 ward
When Briefly News asked Juma what his future looks like for him and his daughter, the bubbly single father said he is running for the MCA position in Umoja 1 ward.
"The reason I am vying is to change the environment where my daughter and other kids are raised by single dads. I feared raising Princess alone because I had seen the kind of a life I had growing up as an orphan. So I want to use my story to encourage other fathers to remain strong even when faced with the worst situations," he said.
Briefly News recently highlighted the struggles that young fathers undergo to raise their children especially with no source of income.
Samuel Kanyari and Anthony Kuria, both 17 years old, and 19-year-old Paul Ngugi, have been forced to take up these roles without a stable income.
"I wish my mom would have been here, we would not be struggling like this because my mom was very hard working," Kanyari said.
Source: Briefly News
Stefan Mack (Editor) Stefan Mack is an English and history teacher who has broadened his horizons with journalism. He enjoys experiencing the human condition through the world's media. Stefan keeps Briefly News' readers entertained during the weekend. He graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 2010 with a Bachelor of Education (BEd), majoring in History and English. Stefan has been writing for Briefly News for a number of years and has covered mainstream to human interest articles.
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
