By Kipkorir Chang'toek
For ten years, every step Samuel Akuyi took was accompanied by pain, shame and the weight of a burden few could imagine.
The 45-year-old father of three from Malava Constituency in Kakamega County carried a massive 30-kilogram scrotal swelling that gradually robbed him of his dignity, livelihood and hope.
How Malava man’s 30-kilogram scrotal swelling began
What began as a pimple he believes was caused by a mosquito bite turned into a nightmare that would define a decade of his life. The swelling grew so large that it completely covered his manhood. Walking became a daunting task.
He could no longer wear ordinary trousers. Instead, he relied on oversized clothing to accommodate the enormous growth. Every time he left his house attracted curious stares, whispers and ridicule.
Speaking to the press, Akuyi said that at some point, he developed suicidal thoughts due to the unbearable pain and shame.
“I reached a point where I felt life was no longer worth living. I even thought of ending my life,” Akuyi recalled quietly from his hospital bed.
Desperate for healing, he travelled from one health facility to another in Kenya and even crossed into Uganda. When modern medicine failed to provide the much-needed cure, he sought help from traditional healers and witch doctors. Nothing changed.
“They (traditional healers) whom I visited and those who came to my home all ate the money I got from selling my 0.2-acre piece of land. I wasn’t healed,” he said.
Through all the pain and uncertainty, one person never walked away. His wife stood beside him every single day of the ten years.
“I thank God for giving me such a wife. She never abandoned me despite everything we went through,” Akuyi said emotionally.
Rapha Hospital treats scrotal swelling
Akuyi’s life finally changed when he arrived at Rapha Hospital in Eldoret. A multidisciplinary team of surgeons, anaesthetists and theatre nurses undertook a highly complex operation that lasted nine hours. The life-changing procedure successfully removed the 30-kilogram mass that had imprisoned him for a decade.
When Akuyi woke up after surgery, he experienced something he had not seen in ten years. His manhood. For the first time in a decade, he looked at his body and saw the man he thought he had lost forever.
Hospital Chief Executive Officer Sharon Sang’ described the operation as more than a medical success.
“It has restored his dignity and given him a new beginning,” Sang’ said.
Recognising the family’s financial struggles, the hospital waived part of the surgical and doctors’ fees. The remaining treatment costs were eased through contributions from compassionate Kenyans who responded to an online appeal coordinated by the Dan Wema Foundation.
Etyang’ Kapule, the lead anaesthetist, said the condition, medically called lymphatic filariasis, is a tropical condition caused by a mosquito bite that releases a filarial worm.
“Once this worm is in the body, it causes damage and makes tissues become fibrous and begin swelling. If the patient does not receive medication early, it grows continually, and over time it becomes heavy for the patient to carry,” Etyang’ said.
Akuyi is recovering steadily in hospital. The man who once contemplated suicide now speaks with renewed hope. He is looking forward to returning home, embracing his children and rebuilding the future that illness had stolen.
