At just nine years old, Maureen Cherotich was diagnosed in 2009 with rheumatic heart disease – a chronic condition caused by damage to heart valves from rheumatic fever.

After two open-heart surgeries, one in 2009 and the second in 2017 at the age of 16, Cherotich was out of danger.

Fatefully, Ms Cherotich is now a nurse at Tenwek Cardiothoracic Centre in Bomet County, the very facility that saved her life.

Now 24, Cherotich says those experiences inspired her to pursue nursing to support other patients facing the same fears she once had.

Cherotich studied community nursing at Sigowet KMTC in Kericho County, graduating in 2023 before joining AGC Tenwek Cardiothoracic Centre.

“Not only do I work as a nurse, but also as a bearer of hope for heart patients who have the same condition I once had. I am living proof that having a heart condition is not the end of a patient’s life,” she said.

Recalling her second surgery, which took eight to ten hours, Cherotich said she was terrified but determined to fight through. “I remember my second surgery in 2017. I was 16 and so scared, but God made it successful. I am now completely healed,” she said.

Speaking after participating in the second edition of the AGC Tenwek Hospital Hearts in Motion: Touch a Heart, Save a Nation 10km run, Cherotich said the compassion she received from doctors and nurses deeply shaped her career path.

Although she currently serves as a nurse, her dream is to advance her studies and specialise in cardiac nursing.

“I want to specialise in cardiac nursing to offer better services to patients. The doctors and nurses at Tenwek gave me more than treatment — they gave me a future. That is why I returned to work at the hospital,” she said.

AGC Tenwek Hospital CEO Ben Siele said the hospital aims to raise Sh48 million through the run to support needy patients who cannot afford life-saving surgeries.

“The hospital came up with this to raise funds for compassionate cases. Every year, we spend about Sh50 million on patients who cannot pay. This affects our operations,” he said.

Siele noted that open-heart surgery costs about Sh1.5 million. While the Social Health Authority covers about Sh1 million, families often raise at least Sh600,000.

“Since opening the centre, open-heart surgeries have increased from about 260 annually, 60 per cent of the national caseload. In the last nine months, we have done more than 300 surgeries,” he said.

The AGC Tenwek Cardiothoracic Centre, serving patients across Kenya and Africa, currently operates two theatres, with a third expected to open soon.

Cherotich said her own surgeries cost her family more than Sh900,000 — a burden she hopes future patients will not face alone thanks to fundraising efforts.