Ayimba finally regains consciousness

History making Kenya Sevens head coach Benjamin Ayimba has finally regained consciousness weeks after being hospitalized for a life threatening malaria infection.

Family update suggested the rugby icon could be out of hospital in the coming weeks to continue recovering with home care.

According to a statement from his family, Ayimba, who for some time now has been admitted in the high dependency unit after being stricken by cerebral malaria a couples of months ago, is said to have regained consciousness two and a half weeks ago after switching hospitals.

“Four weeks ago, Benjamin was transferred from Avenue Hospital to a specialized facility under HDU care. He gained consciousness about two and half weeks ago while still under HDU care. He is responding to familiar voices and can even afford a smile when the family shares a joke or two. The medical team are working hard to wean him out of HDU care as he improves and the attending doctor says he should be able to resume normal ward stay in a few days from now,” the statement read.

The statement from the family went on to provide positive news stating that should the former head coach continue showing positive signs the way he has, he may soon be out of hospital.

“The medical team says that should he remain stable in the next couple of weeks, he can be discharged for home care. However, they also say that Benjamin will most certainly need specialized home care. At the moment the main focus for the medical team is to make sure he remains stable enough before a decision is made on the next course of action, including home care,” the statement read.

Since the news of the coach’s state of health, a funds appeal had been ongoing in the country. And the family expressed their gratitude as they appealed for well-wishers to continue helping in plugging the financial gap that is still withstanding,

“The medical bill at Avenue was Ksh. 3.6M while the bill at the current facility is Ksh. 2.9M giving a total of Ksh. 6.5M. Collectively you have heeded our calls for support and we managed to raise Ksh 5.5m as of 14 May 2021. We would again like to thank everybody who has contributed thus far and we welcome more contributions from all Kenyans of goodwill as we work to ensure Benjamin continues to get the best care on his path to recovery,” the statement concluded.