Four years on, Ntihabose, 20, still hospitalised after deadly cow attack

NYANZA – Lying on his hospital bed with earphones connected to his cell phone, Egide Ntihabose, keeps changing frequencies from one radio station to another.The 20-year old man can hardly be singled out as a special case from other patients in the hospital ward. However, after close observation, you realise that he is enduring a painful life as a result of a brutal cow attack.In 2007, Ntihabose was attacked by a neighbour’s cow. At that time, he was a senior three (S.3) student at EAV Mayaga. He was paralysed after injuring his spinal cord that condemned him to life in hospital.More than four years later, the once energetic young man cannot handle a single task by himself. He cannot move an inch without someone else’s support – even if it is turning in his bed. As he lies in one of the rooms at Nyanza Hospital, he eases himself through a tube and his body is covered with bed sores, a legacy of hospitalisation for four and a half years. Since the attack, he has been moved from one hospital to another. Ntihabose has also undergone an operation at the University Teaching Hospital of Butare (CHUB) before being transferred back to the hospital in his home district where he is still admitted.“The situation I am undergoing is beyond my understanding. I always struggle to forget about it because once I think about it, I fail to fathom the meaning of life,” Ntihabose pitifully says.“Surviving this kind of life requires me to be emotionally strong. Instead of getting well, my health situation gets worse and worse day after day,” he narrates as tears roll down his cheeks. “Yes, I miss school.”Ntihabose hails from Cyeru Cell, Kibilizi Sector of Nyanza District. His father was killed in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. Yet, with all his mindboggling problems, he helps put a smile on the faces of other patients. “This man is so courageous. He often tells us funny jokes as if there is nothing wrong with his health. Though it might look as a way to forget his condition for a while, it is a sign of how strong he is,” says a patient in the same room.Since his admission at Nyanza hospital, Ntihabose has vainly strived to meet with a neurosurgeon. This has affected him, too, though he still has a glimmer of hope.“The doctor who operated on me at Butare returned to his native country. I have been told that he was here for a short whle. On a negative note, my rendezvous with a neurosurgeon at CHU Kigali has never come through. The last time I was there was in June [2011] but we returned without seeing him.“I just wish to be examined by an expert to know about my future. I hope to have that chance one day.”The New Times understands there are only two neurosurgeons in Rwanda - Dr Emmy Nkusi Agabe and Dr Sévérien Muneza.A nurse who conducted her internship at the hospital, last year, but who did not want to be named, said the doctor is often busy “treating cases of patients admitted at University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) only”.“He rarely receives patients from upcountry. He often deals with cases from inside the hospital (CHUK) as he considers that those people are the most affected, thus requiring urgent attention,” he said.Dr Theophile Tuyisabe of Nyanza District hospital, observes that on several occasions, the medics unsuccessfully tried to secure an appointment for Ntihabose to meet with the neurosurgeon.“Last time we went there but we brought him back without any treatment,” Dr Tuyisabe recalls.“This hospital is not equipped to treat his case. We wish he could get the chance to meet with the neurosurgeon. At least, it would comfort him.”The Director General of CHUK, Theobald Hategekimana, refuted the patient’s claim saying that Nihabose came to the hospital in June and met with Muneza. “He has a problem with his spine and correcting such a problem after four years is not simple. The hospital where he is has a problem of managing him and this is why we advised them to bring him back for a final check up and recommend on how best to handle him,” states Dr. Hategekimana.CHUK fixed an appointment of Wednesday February 15, for Nihabose and he will jointly be diagnosed by Dr Muneza and Dr Hategekimana. “We are working on his case, the problem is, the patient might not have clearly understood the process of treatment, but it is our primary obligation to continue informing the patient about his situation and the process of treatment,” adds the CHUK chief. Efforts to reach officials in the Ministry of Health about the matter were fruitless as they all claimed to be attending meetings.

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Four years on, Ntihabose, 20, still hospitalised after deadly cow attack