Woman defies deformity to look after her family

Phyllis Keya lives with a physical deformity in her left hand. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

For Phyllis Keya, the saying that ‘bad things come in threes’ is not just a phrase, but the reality of her life.

When The Standard team visited her home in Bukura, she was tending to her small vegetable garden beside her house. Joseph Amutavi, her husband, was busy sweeping dried leaves from their compound.

Ms Keya lives with a physical deformity in her left hand. It is about three times bigger than her right hand. The thumb on the left hand is bigger than her right-hand wrist. It forms a rigid V shape with the first and second fingers, equally large, and dwarf two small fingers that look like appendages. 

“I was born with this condition in 1987,” Ms Keya said. “When I was still young, my parents took me to Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi for diagnosis. Doctors took tissue samples from the hand but the test did not show any disease. “The doctors then suggested that my arm be amputated. That night, my father and I ran away from the hospital and I have lived with the condition since.”

Although her family accepted her condition, the community was not so accommodating. “Some residents avoided me,” Ms Keya says with a shy smile. “There is nothing I could do about it and had to live with both the rejection and acceptance. I dropped out of school in Standard Two due to stigma”.

Phyllis Keya's husband (right) is sickly, which leaves HER to do everything for the family. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

Twins and children born with deformities are rejected as a bad omen in some African communities. Some were put to death and those who survived had to battle societal stigma throughout their lives.

Kakamega surgeon Dr Protas Oketch says many factors can explain Ms Keya’s condition, but only tests could give a conclusive diagnosis. “From what I see, this could be a congenital problem. On the other hand, when a pregnant woman takes certain types of drugs, say, for epilepsy, it could result in the developmental anomaly of the foetus. Such drugs are known as teratogenic medications”.

The surgeon said Ms Keya’s father did nothing wrong in escaping from the hospital to avoid amputation. “The decision to amputate, if indeed it is true, was flawed. If this was a cancerous growth that required amputation, Ms Keya would not be alive today”. She met her husband in 1999 and they got married in 2002. She gave birth to six children but only two survived. Her firstborn daughter is now 20 years old.

“Three of my children died within three months of being born. They were healthy but each started exhibiting signs of malaria in the third month and died within days. “Last year, I buried my son who was in secondary school and now I remain with only two children,” Ms Keya says, pointing at her son’s grave.

Both her parents are dead.

She says life has been nothing but problematic. Her husband has never had any formal employment and, unfortunately, is epileptic. “My husband is sick. He cannot do anything and that leaves the burden of fending for the family to me.”

During the interview, Mr Amutavi was asked how they met. He said; “I had gone to the shop one evening in 1999, met her and we started talking. The condition of her hand did not bother me and we finally got married. I do not know how it happened, but that is it”.

Phyllis Keya. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

Brian Mbamwa, a neighbour, says: “Her husband is sickly, which leaves Ms Keya to do everything for the family. Occasionally she is able to find menial work like tilling land within the village at a fee.

“Despite her condition, the desire to feed her family compels her to do tough work for a living. She has challenges with the hand, but she works all the same”.

Ms Keya mostly does menial jobs for survival. Sometimes there’s pain in her left shoulder, but she says she has no other options. She uses painkillers but says she has lost hope of finding a medical solution.

“I have never been admitted to hospital for any serious medical condition. If there is something that can be done to help me, I will be happy, but will definitely not agree to amputation.”

Leah Muswanyi says Ms Keya is a good neighbour and works hard to feed her family despite the physical challenge.