The family of a 3-year-old Kenyan girl, Dorcas Chepchumba, who had 7 needles lodged in her stomach, can now heave a sigh of relief, as doctors Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret successfully removed the harmful metals, and further disclosed that she is now in a stable condition and responding to treatment.

The needles in the girl’s stomach was discovered on Thursday, May 3, by doctors at Kapenguria Referral Hospital shortly after she was rushed to the facility after falling ill. Her grandfather, John Chepkokei, who spoke to newsmen said they do not understand how the needles got into the minor’s stomach.

It was gathered that the mother of Dorcas Chepchumba ran away after the baby fell ill and got married to another man, leaving the baby in the custody of her parents.

“The mother escaped because the child was sickly. She is now married to someone else. We used to give her pain killers and we took her to Center Kwanza Dispensary.We are stranded and we don’t know where to start from,” said grandfather, John Chepkokei Ling’aa.

According to x-ray scan images, five tiny metals were lodged the abdomen while two others were sandwiched between tissues on her back.  Her grandparents said they had initially thought the baby had been bewitched as she was staying with her mother and step-father, before they started taking care of her. Her grandmother said Chepchumba started complaining of abdominal pain, cough and fever and had been receiving medication at the facility for two days before the needles were discovered.
“Chepchumba was born well in a hospital. She has been with her mother but when she started being sickly, the mother ran away. I was left to take care of her. We thought that she was bewitched because the child doesn’t belong to the family where my daughter is married,” Chepkokei said.

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