- For three years, Vicmus Ekero has been in an enduring cycle of anguish after losing several close family members
- The Kisumu man says within the short period, he’s lost his mother, two brothers, a younger sister, and most recently, his beloved son
- Desperate to save his child, he sold all his possessions, leaving him broke, broken, and without any meaningful household items
- Now, not only has he lost his precious child, but his own health is deteriorating rapidly, compounding his already bad situation
Vicmus Ekero is at the tail end of his thinking, coming from the difficult moment of burying his son, who died of sickle cell anaemia.
According to him, he is dying inside every new day, given that nothing seems to be working regardless of his spirited efforts.
“My life is like a movie,” Ekero
He told TUKO.co.ke that he’s been through so much that whenever he shares his story, it sounds like a movie or a bag of lies.
Ekero decries that he lost his son because he could not raise a little cash for his treatment.
Despite the painful loss, he has accepted it as he believes it was all God’s plan and it was meant to happen.
“Does it hurt? Yes, but one thing I am proud of is that I gave it my all. Wherever that young man is, he can attest I never gave up on him despite being a single dad,” he said.
Life is vanity
Ekero painfully disclosed that within a span of three years, he has buried his mother, two brothers, a little sister, and now his son.
“Painful is understatement. I am broken to pieces, so much that right now I’m battling peptic ulcers, I can’t raise my rent, and I don’t know my fate,” he continued.
What compounds his woes is the fact that he is unemployed, which has made it impossible to pay rent and feed himself.
Ekero has lost most of the things he deemed close to his heart, but he is optimistic that all he needs at the moment is a source of income.
Health is wealth
The grieving father added that he grew up knowing men should not break, but life has pushed him to a point where he doesn’t see any hope anymore.
With his health failing, he is hoping to find someone to help him pull through the dark period and come out alive.
“I have realised the meaning of the adage health is the greatest wealth. In all you do, pray for good health because anytime you find yourself in what am going through, you will realise life is vanity,” Ekero noted.
Apart from the health scare, his immediate concern is the fact that he has been served with a notice of eviction but has no idea where the money will come from.
Sad, broken man
He adds that even as he is sharing his story, he is not sure whether or not he will still have a place to sleep tonight.
“I’ve learned we don’t have control over life, and the only thing we should aspire is to lead lives that please God such that even if we lose life our souls remain alive. I am broken, sad man,” he concluded.
Wellwishers looking to support the man from Miwani can contact him at 0716594296.
How to minimize sickle cell prevalence
Meanwhile, Sickle Cell Federation of Kenya director Sitawa Renee urged couples to adopt genetic testing as a means to lower the prevalence of the condition.
According to her, current data reveals that approximately 1400 children are born with sickle cell anaemia each year in Kenya.
However, she believes that by taking proactive measures, such as genetic testing, incidences of this condition can be effectively managed.
“It mostly occurs when two parents who are carriers bring forth a child, but this can be mitigated if the genes are discovered early,” she said.
