•Husband seeks help for sick wife
AT the age of 33, she has a whole life, yet, ahead of her. But she is a lit candle sitting in the wind, which can be blown out at any moment. She faces a death that is riding fast in her direction on the back of a failing heart. Her husband’s heavy heart appears to be the one beating for the two of them in the intervening time.
Since Mrs Kate Onimisi was diagnosed with a pregnancy-induced heart problem at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), she has kissed comfort bye-bye. She has remained confined to the bed suffering. She had lost her father to a similar ailment because the family could not meet the financial requirement to restore him to health.
Mrs Onimisi was six months along in her fourth pregnancy when the diagnosis came. She had woken up suddenly from a nap struggling to breathe properly. The development led her to UITH, where she was admitted for one month. But she was soon faced with another dilemma: she would not be able to deliver her baby on her own. Doctors discovered that the gestation was not good and there was, therefore, the need to take the baby out surgically if it would have a chance at survival.
Although the operation was successful, the baby was prematurely delivered. It had to be kept in the nursery, while the mother remained in the Intensive Care Unit of the medical facility.
“After spending a month in the Intensive Care Unit with all the expenses on drugs and other necessary medical needs, medical workers embarked on strike. I had to bring her home. After a month, the breathlessness and coughing became more severe.
“I took her to the trauma centre at UITH after the medical workers suspended their strike. We spent a week there and then, she was transferred to a ward. That was where it was discovered that her heart was at the last stage of failure. But they said that she should be taken to India for surgery. The hospital in India was contacted and the consultant in charge of her treatment estimated the cost of her treatment, drug, flight, accommodation, operation fee, as well as the expenses of a doctor who would accompany her to India,” the husband, Mr Yusuf Onimisi, narrated.
A report from the cardiology unit of Department of Medicine of UITH indicated that Mrs Onimisi, with hospital Number 106369, dated September 3, 2014, was having a “hypertensive heart in imminent failure.”
Mr Onimisi, who says his church and other churches have rendered financial assistance up to the present point, cries that he has been stretched beyond his financial limit and is perplexed by his wife’s deteriorating health. He is calling on public-spirited Nigerians to come to his family’s aid.
The man, who holds a Masters degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the University of Ilorin, is currently looking for a job, having been laid off from the Sharia Court of Appeal, Lokoja, Kogi State, in 2009.
“She is supposed to be presently in hospital and on oxygen, drugs and other palliative treatments, but we cannot afford them any longer because of our poor financial situation.
“Two weeks ago, her legs, tummy and face began to swell. This is because the last time she was in hospital, they said her kidney might be failing, too, but the best thing for now was to go for the heart surgery in India. The surgery requires N10 million. Please, help me. I don’t want her to die,” Onimisi said.
The couple has four children, the eldest being eight years old and the youngest 10 months. The remaining two are seven-year-old twins.
Onimisi gave his contact number as 0818-744 -5339 or 0703-523-5403
Source: Tribune
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