Mother leaves 2 of her 4 newborn babies in hospital because she couldn't pay N14.2m medical bill

- Virginia Adhiambo went into labour at 31 weeks and was taken to the Nairobi South Hospital where she gave birth to four baby boys

- The woman developed complications and was taken to the ICU while the babies were fed on formula

- Adhiambo pulled through, but with a bill of KSh 3.8 million (N14,284,796.28) she had to strike a deal with the hospital to take home two babies and leave the other two

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When Virginia Adhiambo Olambo and Charles Kyalo Ndonye had an ultrasound scan of her pregnancy, they looked forward to receiving their four bundles of joy.

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The quadruple blessings would, however, become a source of stress and agony when they developed complications during birth.

She told Legit.ng's Hillary Lisimba:

"I had the best pregnancy. No complications at all. Everything seemed to go on well just until my waters broke before time."

Virginia went into labour on Monday, February 1, at 31 weeks and was taken to the Nairobi South Hospital where she gave birth to four baby boys; Micah, Jack, Teddy and Malik.

A day after the successful delivery, the new mother developed complications that plunged the entire process into a downward spiral.

She explained:

"My legs and stomach got swollen, and I got a severe infection that was not responding to medic*tion. With my blood count dropping, I had a blood transfusion and ended up reacting to the blood. That got me into the ICU."

Given that the smaller of the two weighed below 1.5 kilograms and their mother was not conscious enough to express their milk, they were put on a special formula.

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The good news is that Virginia pulled through and not only left ICU but recovered fully enough to be allowed a discharge.

The bad news that at the end of the five weeks of being in the hospital, the bill had accrued to KSh 3.8 million (N14,284,796.28).

After talking to the hospital's management, the couple was allowed to take home two of the four babies as they seek funds to clear the bill.

She lamented:

"Micah and Teddy are home, but Jack and Malik are still in the hospital. They should be discharged this week if we manage to raise the money, and you see the longer they stay there the higher the bill goes."

The family has since been trying to fundraise and are requesting wellwishers to pitch in so that the four babies can be reunited and raised together at home.

Other forms of support could be through diapers and formula, as most of the money they receive goes to the hospital.

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She pleaded:

"Our Paybill number is 5541617, with the account number being the sender's name."

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that a Nigerian couple who gave birth to triplets have urged people to come to their rescue as life has been difficult for them.

Emmanuel Adah said he lost his job as an office assistant during the coronavirus pandemic. He said he was shocked when his wife revealed the scan result to him, adding that he asked her to go for another scan which also brought the same result.

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Joseph Omotayo writes for the human interest desk at Legit.ng. He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University with a degree in Literature in English. He loves basketball and books. He tweets @omotayome.

Source: Legit.ng