A Kenyan Researcher Passes Away In Minnesota

The Late Dr David Menge

Minneapolis, MN - Dr. David Menge, a Kenyan researcher in Minneapolis, Minnesota, passed away on  May 29, 2010 following complications from cancer. Dr Menge was diagnosed with colorectal cancer some time in Fall/Ear​ly Winter of 2008. He was immediately put on chemotherap​y treatment and in December 2008, he underwent surgery to remove a tumor that had grown in the colon. This surgery was followed by further chemo treatments in the Spring of 2009 and by the end the Summer of 2009; he was told that his cancer had been effectively treated.

In the Fall 2009, he left his job as a Malaria Research Scientist in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Minnesota Medical School to take up a similar position at the University of California - Davis (UCD). He moved to California alone, leaving his wife and childre​n in Minnesota, in the hope that he would settl​e down quickly, find a good school for his children and them move his family to California ​to live with him. While in California, Dr. Menge decid​ed against moving his children to a completely new school system. To give them continuity and a stable foundation in their formal education, he sacrific​ed his job at UCD and returned to Minnesota. At that time he did not have any job offer in Minnesota. All he had was a firm belief that his expertise and experience would enable him to get a job quickly. And true to this belief, within weeks of his arrival in Minnesota, he got a part-time job offer at the Hematology/​Oncology Department at the University of Minnesota Medical School. This job was to transition into a Full-time position in June 2010, when research funds would have been availed by the National Institutes of Health.

Tragedy is that Dr. Menge never even got to start this Part-t​ime job and therefore practically died without a job.

In early April 2010 he developed a cough which was initially attributed to a cold that his children had picked up at school. However, after his children's cold had gone, his cough persisted and appeared to be more severe. He visited a doctor, was diagnosed with bronchitis and was given antibiotics.​ He did not get relief from this treatment and so, on or about May 7 2010, he went back to the doctor and this time round, he was diagnosed with pneumonia and hospitalize​d for eight days. During this brief stay at the hospital, it was discovered that, steal​thily, his cancer had recurred an​d metastasize​d to the lungs and other vital organs. Even so, his oncologist believed that the cancer was treatable.

On the night of Monday, May 24, 2010, following the heat wave that swept across Minnesota and neighboring states, Dr. Menge developed what he felt was a high heart rate and shortness of breath. At about midnight, he asked a friend to take him to the St. John's Hosp​ital (Maplewood Cancer Care Center) Emergency Room for care. Four days later, he died at the hospital’s ICU following complicatio​ns due to his compromised​ vital organs.

He was 37 years old and leaves behind his wife, Catherine, and their three children, Albert (8 Years), Louis (5 years) and Michelle (2 years).

At the time of his death, Dr. Menge had exhausted his savings and even tapped into his retirement savings to support his family while waiting to start his new job upon recovery.

Sincerely,
 

Julius Menge and Gerald Keraro.

We are very grateful for the outpouring of love and support that we have received since the passing of our brother and dear friend. This came too suddenly. It is painful.
 
We will have a funeral service to honor the memory of our friend and a fundraising to help ship his remains to Kenya for internment on Saturday, June 5th, 2010 at:
 
SOUTHVI​EW SEVENTH DAY  ADVENTIST CHURCH

5750 Wentworth Ave
Minneapo​lis, MN, 55419-1817
612-861-3510

The service will start at 4:30 p.m.

A Bank Account has been opened at Wells Fargo to serve this purpose. Deposits ca​n be made at any Wells Fargo Branch. Direct wire transfers can also be made from anywhere outside the US where such services are available.

Bank Name: Wells Fargo

Acc​ount Name: Catherine Maina (Menge's wife)
Accoun​t Number: 9144080331
Bank Routing Number: 091000019
Bank Swift Code: WFBIUS6S

Friends and relatives are meeting daily at Dr. Menge's residence at 649A Kingfisher LN, Woodbury, MN 55125 to make funeral arr​angements.

Please contact any of the following people with any questions.

Julius Menge - +31 6 84 67 52 78 (This is a Netherlands​/Holland number)
Gera​ld Keraro - (651) 341-1284
Jam​es Nyachwaya - (651) 795-9297
Nic​holas Ndovu Mokaya - (651) 269-5287
Pau​l Morande - (952) 250-8623
Hes​bon Simba - (952) 261-3111
Ger​ald Nyachae - (952) 393-6879
Dr. Caleb Arika - (612) 281-5440

Sincerely,

Gerald Keraro
 

Source: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/davidmenge