Caleb Odanga: Grade One pupil who fell from swing dies

By Peter Ochieng

A pupil who fell from a merry-go-round swing during a school trip three weeks ago is dead.

7-year-old Caleb Odanga, was a grade One pupil at Green Angels Academy in Nairobi.

He passed on after staying on a life support machine for three weeks, at the Kenyatta University Teaching, Refferal and Research Hospital (KUTRRH).

All along, he was in a coma.

The boy, in the company of fellow learners had gone for a school trip at the Destiny Gardens in Ruiru, when he climbed a merry-go-round swing.

Unfortunately, he fell from the swing and suffered a traumatic brain injury.

He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital.

All along, his parents held on, hoping that he would survive even after doctors explained to them that their son had no realistic chance of survival, and that no medical interventions would reverse the situation.

They were advised to withdraw the full support, but decided against the move trusting that the situation could change.

The dad, Peter Mwangi Odanga even urged any other doctor who could change his son's situation to come out and help.

No help came forth, and the family was even planning to take him to India for specialised medical attention.

"If I sign that, I am sending my son to the grave. On the other hand, they're just holding him in that state. If at all there is a possibility that the child can get treatment, which we believe, it's our faith that there is still hope," Peter told Citizen TV, then.

After the accident, police launched investigations to establish what happened.