Felix Orinda, popularly known as DJ Evolve, will need to undergo three more surgeries in order to regain his conversational voice.
This is according to his father, John Orinda, who spoke to Nairobi News on Monday.
Mr Orinda said the diagnosis was made recently at Nairobi Hospital.
“He cannot express himself very clearly. Sometimes when he speaks, it is very difficult to understand him, but his nurses say they can immediately understand what he’s trying to say. The mucus plug makes things a bit difficult for Evolve,” Mr Orinda said.
Pals who visited DJ Evolve at the weekend shared a video of the group hanging out together at his home.
Evolve now has a tracheostomy, which the Mayo Clinic defines as a hole made by surgeons in the front of the neck and into the windpipe.
A tube is then placed in the hole to help the patient breathe when the usual breathing route is blocked or reduced. This intervention is made for people who suffer severe trauma in the neck.
Evolve was shot in the neck in January 2020 at a club in Nairobi.
“We asked the doctor who has been treating Evolve since the shooting how long he has to stay with the tube and he said my son has a blockage that needs to be removed,” Mr Orinda said.
“It will need three surgeries and they are not very easy to do. This is when he will get his voice back.”
Hadn’t been given the bill
Asked about the cost of the surgery, Mr Orinda said he hadn’t been given the bill.
“I have been having pressure about this matter for a very long time, but I feel a bit calm now that there is light at the end of the tunnel that my son will become well. He is doing well, he has put on so much weight and I am happy about that.
“Right now, what he is focusing on is his travelling endurance because he really wants to go home for his mother’s one-year memorial anniversary since her passing.”
Evolve has been practising how long he can endure travelling by road as he is still confined to his wheelchair, Mr Orinda added. He is unable to sit up or walk properly.
The farthest he has gone is Nyahururu, Laikipia County. He is working up his energy to travel to Kendu Bay, Homa Bay County, for the memorial service scheduled for October 21-22.
“It is very hard to read his heart and emotions. He does not show it easily but even at the doctor’s office, his one important question was how soon he could travel home to mourn his mother as he could not attend her funeral last year,” Mr Orinda said.
“He was still receiving treatment. We are hoping that if road transport will be too difficult for him, we can book a flight to Kisumu County and then take the two hours needed by road to Homa Bay.”
Mr Orinda invited family and friends to the memorial service, saying it would be an opportunity to give her a befitting send-off as they couldn’t do that last year. BY DAILY NATION
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