The ODM leader Raila Odinga has for the first time revealed how a blunder by Kenyan surgeons could have contributed to his daughter Rosemary Odinga’s eyesight complications.
In an exclusive interview with Asian News International (ANI) on Sunday, February 13, Raila said the laxity of Kenya doctors during her first surgery could have contributed to her daughters’ blindness.
The former prime minister explained that Rosemary developed a brain hemorrhage three years ago and was rushed to a hospital in Nairobi but the consequential surgery interfered with her optical nerves.
“My daughter got sick about three years ago. She had some hemorrhage in the brain and as a result, she was operated on in Nairobi. In the process of the operation, they interfered with her optic nerve,” Raila told ANI.
The former prime minister said the blunder by Kenyan doctors was the beginning of the family’s distress and desperate attempts to help her.
“We then transferred her to South Africa for treatment. She was treated there for three months. Unfortunately, she was not able to recover her eyesight. We sent her to Israel and again they did not do much,” Raila stated.
Apart from South Africa and Israel, Rosemary was also taken to China and Japan but none of the hospitals could perform the required corrective surgery.
“She came back to Kenya and we sent her to China. They did surgery on her and it did not quite help her regain her sight. We sent her to Germany where they did electrode treatment. Also, that was not successful,” he added.
The ODM leader revealed that the family was on brink of giving up when a friend suggested about Sreedhareeyam Group of Institutions that specializes in eye treatment.
“A friend of mine came and suggested that there is an institution in India that does Ayurvedic treatment that you should try,
“We decided to try and send her to this center in 2019. She stayed there for three weeks where they administered treatment to her,” the former prime minister stated.
The ODM leader has been out of the country for the last 10 days where he had accompanied his daughter for the medical check at the Indian hospital.
While in India, Raila met the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to explore the possibility of setting up such facilities in Nairobi to help those who can afford the cost of traveling to India.
“I have suggested to them that they should come and set up a branch in Nairobi Kenya and I am going to work with them to set up this center,” Raila said.
