African photographer shares his wife’s final moments on earth
Joe Makeni, a renowned Kenyan photographer, let the Internet witness the last moments of Njeri Riitho, his beloved wife, before she left this world.
According to the posts shared by Makeni on Instagram, his pregnant wife, after losing ability to walk, was hospitalized to Kijabe on January 20th and transferred to Nairobi three days later.
The woman was diagnosed with hypocalcemia, a condition where the patient has low serum calcium levels in the blood, and she had lost the baby.
Despite the couple being left broken after losing the child, Makeni said that his wife always remained smiling and optimistic on her hospital bed, till when she breathed her last.
“I am not one to post personal stuff online but I feel like sharing so Njeri’s last days can be an encouragement to someone out there… I was taking all these photos so I can later show her how close she came to death when she gets better. I guess she got too close,” he said.
Makeni even put some make-up on his wife in some instances while she was hospitalised for over one week.
He also mentioned immense support from doctors who were attending to Njeri.
“I am particularly thankful to Dr. Rachel Hagler for preparing me every step of the way. She told me about the grim possibility of death even before I thought of it myself. Thank you for making all those phone calls to make sure Njeri got a bed in the ICU. Thank you for your courage and faith. For being human. For fighting for her life to the very end. For letting me see her before she passed on. You encouraged me,” shared Makeni.
Here are the images that the professional photographer started sharing on February 9.
January 20 at 4:44 p.m.: “On this day @njeririitho was unable to walk and so we went to the hospital to get it checked out. Actually, she couldn’t control any of her limbs.”
January 27 5:55 p.m.: “After 3 days in Kijabe we came back to a hospital in Nairobi. She was sick but she was always so full of joy. Many of us always went home more encouraged by her.”
“Njeri in hospital just a day after the evaluation. We were so broken having lost the baby just two days prior but as always she was hiding behind a smile. PS: I did the make-up with instruction from @saitonne and @ngamau_. Thank you so much Wangeci and Saitone for going out of your way.”
“Making gang signs all the way ???? hypocalcemia for what?”
“Doctors and nurses make a spirited attempt to save Njeri’s life. There was no shortage of talent. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many doctors attend to one person. This was during intonation and I remember Dr. Rachel Hagler telling Joy and I “This is the part where you pray” before the procedure started.”
“I stared at this monitor for like 30 mins hoping to see the blood pressure shoot up. It was at 49/20 for the longest time. That’s the end of that story. Now to pick up the pieces and soldier on. Good bye Njeri. You’ll always be in my heart.”
Source: Tuko
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