Renewed cry for help as 11-year-old David battles heart failure, kidney disease, tuberculosis

“I want juice, I want juice,” David Paul cried, almost screaming out of pain and agony from the discomfort he was experiencing from the multiple life-threatening conditions that have plagued him for almost two years.

David’s wearied and helpless mother, Blessing Paul, out of concern not to exceed the recommended 300ml per-day fluid intake, reluctantly handed him the dregs of a juice container. The boy gulped it down at once and continued yelling for more, unable to lie down, sit, sleep or eat.

But his mother would not grant him that request because he had not been making enough urine to encourage giving him more fluids than what the medical experts managing his conditions recommended.

Saturday Tribune first brought David Paul’s plight to public attention on July 12, 2025. Yet, months later, the suffering of the 11-year-old boy, diagnosed with heart failure, kidney disease and tuberculosis, has only worsened, and his family’s cry for help has become even more desperate.

For the past two years, David has been in and out of different hospitals, starting with the Model Primary Health Care, Emenike Junction, Mile 1 Diobu, Port Harcourt; Military Hospital, Port Harcourt; Rivers State University Teaching Hospital; University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo; and a private hospital in Uyo, seeking healing for his conditions.

However, the major treatments and management are done at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, formerly Braithwaite Memorial Hospital (BMH), which holds all his medical details.

According to his father, Daniel Paul, the boy has been diagnosed with heart failure, TB and kidney disease, with the consultant explaining that while the kidney issues can be better managed locally, he did not know if they could be treated outside the country.

David’s story in the past two years has been a very touchy one, as narrated by his mother, who has literally abandoned her petty trading to stay with her son as caregiver.

“It was just one morning, a year and 11 months ago, he woke up and started vomiting something like blood but black in colour. I took him to the health centre and they gave him an injection and placed him on antibiotics for three days. Then I started observing that his face was heavy. They said it was food allergy and asked me to run some tests, which I did, but the problem continued.

“Then the legs started swelling. I went back to the health centre and they referred us to BMH (Rivers State University Teaching Hospital), but we went to Military Hospital. There they admitted him for almost three weeks, then referred us back to BMH. They also admitted him there and BMH has been managing him. Then the stomach joined and he became bloated, paralysed and temporarily blind.

“They later diagnosed him with partial stroke. After he became stable, we were discharged. But almost every month, we took him back to BMH. Then they said he was having heart failure and because of staying too long in the hospital, he contracted tuberculosis, which added more problem to the one we were managing. Next month will make it six months since he last went to hospital because we ran out of funds. They discharged us in July and since August, we have not gone back.

“Now we need like N500,000 because that is what is required monthly to flush the water from his system. They will flush the water, do cardiography for the heart, x-ray and everything.

“Even as he is now, once we go there, they will place him on oxygen. He has been looking helpless, crying, no food, no sleep because the water has circulated everywhere. I’m a trader but I can’t go to the market anymore because of my son’s health. I only go to the market when his brothers come back from school or if my sister is at home. My husband is a teacher.”

She added: “Apart from the hospital visitation, we have been going to church and praying and calling pastors to pray for him. It’s God that is keeping him alive.”

His father told Saturday Tribune that the consultant handling David had advised a phased treatment, starting with getting the heart to function properly and treating the tuberculosis before considering a kidney transplant.

“The consultant said we can’t start talking about kidney transplant now because of the condition of his heart. That when the heart starts functioning properly and the kidneys have not improved, then they can look in the direction of transplant.

“The heart treatment can be done in Nigeria, but the kidney, the consultant said, can only be managed in Nigeria. I can’t tell if being flown abroad would fully treat him.

“As of June this year, before he tested positive for TB, the consultant roughly put the cost of kidney and heart treatments between N19 million and N30 million,” he stated.

The family is calling on the government, ministries and agencies, non-governmental organisations, philanthropists and members of the public to come to their aid in rescuing young David and giving him a chance to live a full and fulfilled life.

David’s father can be contacted via 07085556206 or 08064450145 and the mother, 08101067730.