“This was my first surgery. I was very afraid but hopeful at the same time. I just wanted a chance to relieve my pain,” the soft-spoken fruit vendor said shortly after waking from a successful seven-hour spine operation during the ongoing neurosurgical camp.

Ms. Opundo’s life changed abruptly one morning in November last year. She went to bed feeling fine, only to wake up in excruciating pain. A sharp, gripping sensation shot through her lower back and spread to her left side, leaving her legs numb and her mobility severely affected.

“I had never felt anything like that in my life. My waist felt like it was being painfully squeezed,” she recalls.

Her search for relief took her through both public and private hospitals. At Kisumu County Referral Hospital (KCRH), she underwent X-rays and received medication, and although physiotherapy helped her stop using crutches, the numbness in her legs persisted. When she later sought care at JOOTRH, specialists explained that the condition required neurosurgical intervention, noting that long sitting hours at her fruit stall may have contributed to the damage.

In March this year, MRI showed Stage one degeneration; by November, it had progressed to Stage two. Still, she waited patiently for the neurosurgical camp, knowing it was her best chance at affordable, specialized care.

Ordinarily, such a procedure would cost between KSh 500,000 and 900,000, far beyond Ms. Opundo’s reach. However, with her active Social Health Authority (SHA) cover, the entire cost was fully paid, allowing her to receive treatment without financial strain.

The 10-day camp, running from November 24 to December 3, brings together specialists from Germany and resident neurosurgeons under the Kisumu Neuroscience Initiative.

As she recovers,Ms. Opundo is filled with gratitude: “I thank God, the doctors, and JOOTRH. I already feel lighter.”