MAN WITH RARE THROAT DISEASE SAYS HE HAS NOT SWALLOWED ANYTHING FOR THREE YEARS

Dominic Birika speaks to journalists at his home in Kuura Village, Nyamira County. He uses a tube linked directly to his stomach to “eat” as he cannot swallow anything due to a blockage in his throat. PHOTO | JOSHUA ARAKA | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

A 29-year-old man from Nyamira has not swallowed anything for the last three years – not even his own saliva – due to a blockage in his throat.

This, Mr Dominic Birika says, is due to the fact that he suffers from a disease known as benign oesophageal stricture.

This is a condition where scar tissues form in the oesophagus, blocking it completely.

“I have for the last three years been feeding through these pipes linked directly into the stomach,” Mr Birika says as he pulls his shirt up to expose his artificial 'mouth.’

When Nation.co.ke visited him in his Kuura Village home in West Mugirango Constituency, Mr Birika was lying on a sofa in his sitting room, lost in thought.

He could not to even immediately realise he had visitors.

His eyes were firmly fixed on a television set, he said was bought for him by a friend to help him 'pass time.’

At 29, Mr Birika looks much older than he actually is.

SWALLOWING COMPLICATIONS

The former carpenter’s tribulations started in 2008 when he developed food swallowing complications forcing him to seek medication at the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital.

“Medics there referred me to Tenwek Mission Hospital where I underwent an endoscopy (a nonsurgical procedure used to examine a person's digestive tract).

“After treatment, I was able to eat and drink well but the problem resurfaced a week later,” Mr Birika said.

For several months, he says, he used stents to feed.

Stents are special tubes which ensure tissues along the oesophagus do not enlarge and block it.

“But stents were not going to be a long-lasting solution,” he says.

REPLACEMENTS PAINFUL

Doctors advised that continued replacement of stents was painful, expensive, and risky and would rupture the walls and cause throat cancer.

“Doctors counselled me a lot and told me there was no need of even imagining of seeking further treatment abroad. They therefore decided to create the opening in the stomach through which I should feed myself,” he said.

And for more than three years, Mr Birika says has been feeding using stents through the opening on the left side of his stomach.

He pours warm fluids into a huge syringe from where it moves through the tubes into the digestive system.

“I only rely on milk, water and soup,” says the father of three.

“It is well-wishers who feed me on a daily basis. I really don’t know what will happen when this comes to an end,” he adds.

“My dad who now lives in Bungoma, sold everything to ensure I received the best treatment. But even after spending over Sh2 million, my health has not improved. I now live by the grace of God,” he says.

“I do not need anything apart from regular changing of these tubes, constant availability of blended fruits, milk or tea, water and soup,” he adds.
SOURCE: NATIONA MEDIA