Since birth, AnuOluwapo Moses, an eight-year- old girl has been having a very hard time of life. Her battle is linked to two life-threatening diseases. She has a hole- in-her heart and also a hole at the back of her mouth. And except help comes her way without delay, her health conditions would continue to deteriorate and consequences could be irreversible, her doctors have revealed.
Aanuoluwapo’s father, Joshua Moses, 42, narrated to this reporter the family’s harrowing experience and efforts over the little girl and her poor health.
“Though, we noticed she always put in much effort at infancy to do strenuous activities particularly walking, we couldn’t link that to be a serious health challenge,” he recalled.
In view of that, the parents took her to a private clinic in their neighbourhood, but when the visit became frequent and the girls condition grew worse, she was referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, for a better attention. That was in 2019 when she was already six years old.
There, her real health condition was unveiled. She was diagnosed with the two health conditions which in medical parlance are known as Tetrallogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia and hypoplastic pulmonary arteries and cleft upper pillage– hole-in-the heart and hole at the back of her mouth.
Her case at the hospital is being handled by a consultant paediatrician\Paediatric cardiologist, Dr. O.J. Sokunbi. “We weren’t aware of any of these ailments all our lives,” her father declared, adding, “We heard about them for the first time through our daughter’s case.”
Ever since then, AnuOluwapo’s parents have had no rest. Their worry is how to ensure their daughter’s defective heart and throat are repaired for her to remain alive and lead a normal life.
Aside LUTH where she was admitted till June this year, this development has also taken AnuOluwapo to many other hospitals in the country including the National Hospital in Abuja, the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Ikeja and Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), Ile-Ife , all in search of medical help.”
“But we were told by all of them that they could not handle her case largely because of the hole- in- her heart which needs to be corrected first before the one in her mouth: “This is on the premise that they have no life-saving equipment to handle such a case in any hospital, public or private, in Nigeria” Moses said.
Now, a hospital-Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, in India has agreed to handle the case and that will cost the family N15 million (about US$36,500). The money will cover medical bills, medications, airfare, and sundry expenses.
Where and how to get such a huge amount of money is now an albatross for the poor couple who still have two other children to cater for.
“That is why I have to approach the media to help us cry out to Nigerians for possible help so that our daughter will live a normal life,” Moses stressed.
Moses and his wife, Faith, who are both from Kogi State, are self-employed at micro level. He is a carpenter and his wife a hairstylist. Their combined incomes are not only meagre but very unstable.
According to him, there is no way the two of them could raise such a huge amount of money on their own even for the next 100 years or more.
This reporter visited the family in their one-room appartment at No 4\6 Olanrewaju Street, by Morgan bus stop, a slum area in Mushin, Lagos. AnuOluwapo, at the period, was lying down on a mat.
Even at that, a huge amount of money is being spent daily on suppressive medications and drugs for the girl. AnuOluwapo goes for routine check ups now and then at LUTH where she had stayed for more than a year as in-patient before she was discharged in June this year.
Her father said such exercise which is often followed by recommended drugs cost so much, disclosing that the money comes from supports received from few individuals and relatives.
“And that is why we are using your medium to appeal to Nigerians to come to our aid and save our daughter.
“She is no longer in school. She stopped two years ago while in Primary One simply because they used to call us from her school that she had collapsed either in class or on the assembly ground so often and no school wants to cope with such a situation,” Moses pointed out.
Aside that Anuoluwa is always in pains, she eats only liquid foods as she feels serious pains while chew and swallowing solid foods, and this thwarts her growth and body immune system, causing her frequent sickness.
And another serious issue concerning her case is that as she grows older so does her heart and the hole that is in it leading to health complications.
Her Doctor also affirmed this in a “To Whom It May Concern” letter dated, August 16, 2021 introducing AnuOluwapo to whoever that wants to offer her some help to prevent her case from becoming irreversible.
“That is why we are appealing to good-spirited individuals, institutions and corporate bodies across the globe as well as Nigerian governments across tiers to help us with the money”, Mr Moses pleaded.
The couple particularly sent a passionate appeal to the governors of Kogi and Lagos States, Yaya Bello and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, respectively as public spirited fathers and leaders to assist them financially.
“They are leaders known for having a human feeling,” Moses said.
Those willing to help Anuoluwapo, could do so by getting in touch with Editor Sunday Tribune.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…
and then