Betty Kyalo: From An Accident Casualty To A High Flying TV Anchor (Part 2)

Badly bruised face

The injuries she sustained from the accident were so serious her family were scared how she would react when she saw her face.

“For a while, my brother and mother would not let me see my reflection because they knew how I would react. But during the hospitalisation period, one day I was being taken for an X-ray and I caught a glimpse of my reflection. I  immediately sunk into depression. I felt like my life was over because I knew I could never be a news anchor,” she recalls with a sad smile.

After undergoing eight surgeries Betty finally left the hospital in October 2005. She was a changed person and her friends noticed it.

“I have always been a free spirit and so I have a lot of friends but for a while, I did not let my friends visit me. I wanted to be alone.” The journey towards recovery was rough, she says.

“I not only had to learn how to walk again, I also had to learn to live with my badly bruised face. My doctors had advised my mum on grafting (surgically removing skin from my thigh and adding it to the left side of my face) but she did not want me to go under the knife because I had already had eight surgeries in two months,” she says.
That month was spent recuperating at home and visiting lawyers to follow up on the case.

“I would walk in town and everyone would stare at me because of my funny-looking face. This traumatised me and I had to go for counselling to help me deal with it,” she says.

 “At first, I was worried and scared about my future, but I reached the point where I stopped worrying and left everything in God’s hands. I refused to wallow in self-pity and took control of  my life,” she says resolutely.
Interestingly, when she let go and let God take charge, she started noticing signs of a miracle.

“In December 2005, I started noticing small patches of skin returning to my face. I did not think much of it but by March 2006, believe it or not I had new skin. The only thing I have now left from the accident are memories and the scars on my neck. Even today when my doctors meet me, they still cannot believe I am the same girl who had half a face. It was a miracle. I became confident and aggressive about my dream. I realised I did not have time to waste because every moment I live is a precious gift,” she says.

She went on to complete her studies and joined Daystar University where she studied Communication. She later got an opportunity for internship and it was then that her talent was discovered. The rest is history.

At first she had believed she needed to hide the scars on her neck but she says now she wears them like jewels.

“They are my story. I feel like I stared death in the face and I lived to tell,” she says.

[Standard Digital]