For eight-year-old Husla, the journey to control epilepsy has stretched from the Kenyan coast to neighbouring Tanzania and as far as India.
Her mother, Mohamed, has spent years moving from one hospital to another, looking for a treatment that could give her daughter relief from seizures that, at their worst, struck up to 10 times a day.
Now, instead of travelling abroad, the family has found new hope in Kisumu, where Husla has become one of the first patients to receive a Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) implant at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH).
The procedure, performed during the ongoing September neurosurgical camp, is a first for the level six referral hospital and the wider region.
JOOTRH has become the first facility in East, Central and Western Africa outside South Africa to undertake VNS implantation, bringing an advanced treatment option for drug-resistant epilepsy closer to patients who would otherwise have to seek care overseas.
The procedure was performed by neurosurgeons Dr William Owiti and Dr Carrie Muh, with support from LivaNova, which provided the technology.
This is part of the collaboration between JOOTRH and the Kisumu Neuroscience Initiative, which has increasingly focused not only on providing complex neurosurgical care, but also on transferring specialised skills and technology to local teams.
For Husla’s mother, the development has meant avoiding another expensive international medical trip.
Husla was born through Caesarean section and later developed a neurological condition that was followed by recurrent convulsions.
Her mother first sought help in Mombasa before travelling to Nairobi and later Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
But despite various consultations and treatments, the seizures continued to interfere with Husla’s childhood. At one point, the convulsions occurred as many as 10 times a day.
The condition also affected her education, eventually prompting her family to enrol her in a special school.
Still, her mother refused to give up. She eventually travelled with Husla to India, where medication helped reduce the frequency of the seizures.
The improvement offered some relief, but it was not enough to give the family the stability they wanted.
They began preparing for another journey to India, this time for VNS surgery. Mohamed estimates the trip and treatment would have cost the family about Sh3 million.
Then she learnt the procedure would be available at JOOTRH.
The family abandoned plans to travel to India and instead made the journey to Kisumu. For them, the development has demonstrated how specialised healthcare delivered locally can change the choices available to families dealing with complex illnesses.
VNS is used for patients whose epilepsy remains poorly controlled despite anti-seizure medication.
The system consists of a small pulse generator implanted beneath the skin, commonly in the chest, and a lead connected to the vagus nerve in the neck.
The device sends programmed electrical impulses through the nerve, which can help reduce seizure activity.
It is not a cure for epilepsy and its effectiveness varies between patients. However, for some people with drug-resistant epilepsy, it can reduce seizure frequency and severity and improve quality of life.
Epilepsy is a chronic non-communicable disease of the brain that affects people of all ages.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that about 50 million people worldwide live with the condition, making it one of the most common neurological disorders globally.
Nearly 80 per cent of people with epilepsy live in low- and middle-income countries, where access to diagnosis and treatment remains a major challenge.
About three-quarters of people with epilepsy in low-income countries do not receive the care they need.
Yet up to 70 per cent of people with epilepsy could potentially become seizure-free if properly diagnosed and treated.
The condition can also carry a higher risk of premature death, while people living with epilepsy and their families often face stigma and discrimination.
The causes vary and may include brain injuries, infections, genetic conditions, stroke, birth-related complications and brain tumours, although in about half of cases the cause remains unknown.
The procedure therefore represents more than another surgical service for JOOTRH.
It signals the hospital’s growing capacity to offer complex neurological treatment that has traditionally been concentrated in a few specialised centres outside the region.
The September neurosurgical camp has brought together local and international specialists to treat patients with complex brain and spine conditions while exposing local teams to advanced techniques.
The programme is part of a wider effort to strengthen neurosurgical services at JOOTRH and reduce dependence on overseas referrals for specialised care.
For Husla, however, the significance of the procedure is more personal.
After years in which her family planned each day around the possibility of another seizure, the hope is that better seizure control will give her more freedom to learn, play, and participate in ordinary childhood activities.
For her mother, the journey that began in Mombasa, passed through Nairobi and Tanzania and reached India has now come back home to Kenya.
And in Kisumu, the family is hoping the latest chapter will be a different one—defined not by the search for another hospital, but by the possibility of fewer seizures and a more settled childhood for Husla.
