In sickness...How this part of the vows became a reality for Nakuru couple
Mr and Mrs Omweri at their kaptembwo home on November 8, 2023.
We caught up with the Omweris who unintentionally became an overnight internet sensation after a lovey-dovey video of them did crazy rounds.
In case you are an avid social media user, you might have seen a video of the husband, Otondi Omweri, pushing a bicycle that was carrying his wife along the road just outside Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital.
Romantic music set the tone for the video which was accompanied by a romantic caption leaving a lot of social media users swooning over the romantic gesture.
Part of the caption read, "If we not getting old this way then I don't want it" with many comments reiterating that love is a beautiful thing.
Through my conversations with the couple, I come to learn that the two have been together for over thirty years.
"We met back in '89," Mr. Otondi reminisces before adding, "I was at the market near home when I saw the most beautiful woman selling bananas at a stall. I'd make a point of visiting the stall every day with the sorry excuse of 'bananas being my favourite fruit'. "
Soon after, Omweri decided to court Grace and their whirlwind romance would lead to marriage and a family consisting of them and their four children.
But as fate would have it, their love would be tested just a decade after they exchanged the solemn words, ‘in sickness and in health.’
The Kaptembwa resident shares, “My Grace occasionally began complaining about having pain in her legs back in the year 2000. We both thought nothing much of it, but I made sure she wouldn’t strain. It wasn’t until recently when things got very bad.”
Otondi goes on to add that at the moment, his wife whom he refers to as the ‘love of his life’ can’t walk long distances and needs a lot of support doing everyday tasks.
“Her legs have gotten worse ever since and we still aren’t sure what the problem is. Getting in contact with a doctor at PGH (which they frequent weekly) has borne no fruit. At the moment, I am my wife’s caregiver. I bathe, clothe and feed her,” he shares.
When asked why he hasn’t tasked any of their four children with caregiving, he notes, “I vowed to stick by Grace in sickness and in health and I intend to honour that promise I made to her years ago."
As he closes off the brief phone interview, Otondi Omweri shares," I cherish Grace so much and my only prayer is that we can get a doctor to give us a way forward to help her regain her strength and health.”