The Cheki Maneno That Never Was.
July 31st 2011 is a day that will forever remain engraved in my mind coz of a life changing event that happened. I had woken up at 5:30am to prepare myself for a cheki maneno to Chumani ( @MISCHIEF anajua ni wapi, Just about 80kms from Mombasa) which is just past Kilifi and back with the boys, we were to meet at Mama Ngina Drive coz we had some members coming all the way from Ukunda.
Nikaoga chapchap nanikavaa my white jersey ili mboys wajue Meria can still pedal despite being the oldest in the team, I then had my breakfast of fruits and stepped outside to get my bike from the garage which was a few meters from the main hse, kulikua kumenyesha kiasi usiku and the compound had patches of water and to get to the garage door we had placed some blocks to step on to avoid wetting our feet, so sikua na budi but to hop, step and jump ndio nisikanyange maji.
Nika hop ya kwanza, nikastep ya pili nikaanguka ndani ya maji, nikasmama nikaanguka tena, nikajaribu kusimama tena nikashindwa, it was then that I looked at my left foot, OMG OMG my leg was in two pieces, I had landed on the block with the outside of my left foot and had sliped and broken my ankle joint, my foot was severed from my leg, ilikua imeshikiliwa na veins zile ziko hapo kwa heel. instinctively i tried to wiggle my toes and i was amazed to see them move. Nikaangalia mguu wangu vizuri nikaona the horrible injury I had and surprisingly there was no pain and the blood had not started flowing.
Sitting right there in the puddle of water three things closed my mind in quick succession
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I will never be able to drive a truck again
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I will never do another cheki maneno
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I will never be able to go up a ladder and onto the roof to do an fta installation
It is with this sinking feeling that I dragged myself on my butt to the corridor and called my son whose room was nearest the garage. Time was 5:50am
Alipocome akaniuliza kwanini nimeketi kwa floor nikamshow mguu na saa hio ndio blood ilianza kutoka, roho ikidunda blood inaruka, haraka karaka bila swali ingine akarudi kwa room yake akaja na tie ya shule akafunga mguu hapo just above the knee alafu akachukua simu akaanza kuchukua video and at the same time shouting for his mom to wake up.
Mama watoto aliamka speedie speedie due to the urgency in the tone akaja still in the night dress, I thought she would scream when she saw the extent of the injury but she didn’t, she just asked “umeanguka ukifanya nini?” sikujibu hio although I suspect she did not expect an answer, I told her to call my immediate neigbours nikimbizwe spitari. Sadness of life, gari ilikua hapo inje na wife hajui kupeleka, my son nilikua nimemfundisha kidogo lakini hakua amezoea main road. She also called my sis who lived nearby.
The five of them carefully lifted me and placed me in the backseat of the car, wakachukua cussions za viti in order to make me as comfortable as possible na safari ikaanza. Barabara ya kisauni those days would have put the lunar landscape to shame coz of the massive craters and ruts, the driver tried his best to move fast while at the same time driving very carefully so as not to jolt me and aggravate the injury. kufika bridge two things happened, uchungu ilikuja na watoto wake wote alafu nikahisi baridi ya ajab, even my intestines started shaking, its like I was somewhere at the top of the aberdares, my teeth were chattering faster than a tickertimer placed next to a kilo of topgrade uranium. By the time tufike Buxton I was breathing in slowmotion, I would take a deepbreath and then hold it in and exhale slowly in short gasps, it helped to ease the pain or so I thought, soon enough we got to the casualty departments of one of the top hospitals. Time 6:30
Doctors and nurses came rushing out to attend to me, one young doctor took a look at the injury and asked everyone around why they had not put the broken ankle back into its socket, so saying he held my foot and leg and slotted the bone back into its place. Vile niliskia siwezi kuelezea sababu ni uchungu kuruka, something I cannot even wish on my worst enemy, I tried to scream but nothing came out, I was paralysed by pain and thankfully I passed out.
Episode 2 coming up nikitoka church
