A Machakos single mother is in a desperate race against time, pleading with well-wishers to help raise KSh 300,000 so her 16-year-old son can undergo a second brain surgery before his condition deteriorates further.
Elizabeth Muthoni, who is unemployed and also caring for an ailing mother, says her son Lewis Kiama Muthoni is in constant pain and has not attended school in months.
Lewis, a Form 3 student, first showed alarming symptoms in 2025 when he began experiencing persistent headaches and progressive vision loss in both eyes.
The crisis came to a head when Lewis collapsed at a local market on their way home from a pharmacy visit. He vomited blood and went into convulsions, prompting Elizabeth to rush him to Kangundo Hospital.
Elizabeth Muthoni borrows KSh 280,000 for son’s surgery
Medical tests, including an MRI scan, confirmed what the family feared: Lewis had not one but two brain tumours, one significantly larger than the other.
The family borrowed money and managed to raise KSh 280,000, enough to fund surgery that removed the larger tumour. Lewis was placed in the ICU afterwards and showed some improvement, but the relief was short-lived.
The second tumour is still growing and occupying increasing space in his brain, and doctors say there is no alternative to a further operation.
Lewis continues to suffer from recurring convulsions
The remaining tumour requires specialised equipment from Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), specifically a machine used to burn growing cancerous cells, which must be hired at significant cost.
The SHA scheme currently covers only the bed charges, leaving the family to source the KSh 300,000 surgical bill on their own.
Lewis continues to suffer from recurring convulsions, severe and constant headaches, and deteriorating eyesight.
Lewis’s blood pressure drops to 40
Painkillers offer only brief relief, and his blood pressure has at times dropped as low as 40.
He remains unable to attend school. Elizabeth says the community response has been heartfelt but limited.
Fundraisers and a dedicated WhatsApp group have helped, though it is largely the same circle of family members and village neighbours contributing each time.
In August, Lewis and her mother received medical assistance during a free medical camp organised by the M-Pesa Foundation in Machakos County
Elizabeth Muthoni’s prayer for her ill child
With no income, a sick mother to care for, and rent arrears mounting, Elizabeth says her only anchor is faith.
“I am praying to God to preserve my child,” she said, adding that she is raising her two children entirely alone.
Doctors have not given a hard deadline, but have made clear that the sooner the second tumour is removed, the better Lewis’s chances of recovery.
