Comedian MC Mbakara and wife, Lolo Mbakara, have opened up about their daughter Eke Mama’s nine-year struggle with severe cerebral palsy, a condition stemming from a lack of oxygen at birth.
In an emotional video on MC Mbakara TV on Saturday, the couple recounted the traumatic events of October 19, 2016 when their newborn’s fight for life began.
Cerebral palsy is a brain disorder that emerges in early childhood, impairing movement, muscle coordination, and posture due to brain damage before, during, or shortly after birth.
Causes include oxygen deprivation, brain bleeds, or disrupted brain development.
For Eke Mama, the couple said the damage occurred during a delivery gone wrong.
Lolo Mbakara described a harrowing scene in the labor room, stating: “I went into the labour room, and it was time to push. But somehow the baby was stuck”.
According to her, the hospital lacked functional oxygen, and staff resorted to pouring water from an empty tank onto the newborn in a desperate bid to revive her.
“When the baby came out, she wasn’t crying, she wasn’t breathing. They said, ‘Bring oxygen!’ — but there was no oxygen in the hospital”.
With no improvement, the family rushed Eke Mama to a teaching hospital, a journey that took over 30 minutes.
“We had to move her ourselves to the teaching hospital. By then, over 30 minutes had passed,” she recounted.
There, she was placed on oxygen for nearly two weeks, but doctors confirmed that the prolonged oxygen deprivation had caused irreversible brain damage, leading to severe cerebral palsy.
Faced with a heart-wrenching decision, the couple was advised by a medical colleague to remove Eke Mama from life support for a “stress-free life.”
They refused, stating, “One of my husband’s medical friends said, ‘If you want a stress-free life, take off the oxygen mask and let her rest,’ but as parents, we couldn’t bring ourselves to do it.”
Now nine years old, Eke Mama remains in a vegetative state, spending, as Lolo tearfully noted, “95 percent of her life sleeping.”
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The Mbakaras have endured not only the emotional and financial toll of their daughter’s condition but also public scrutiny.
“People said we were ashamed of her,” MC Mbakara said, addressing years of online trolling. “But human beings can be mean. We didn’t want pity or ridicule”.
Turning pain into purpose, the couple has launched the Aya Kanu Aya Foundation to raise awareness about cerebral palsy and support affected families. “People call these children bewitched or possessed instead of understanding it’s brain damage,” Lolo said.
The foundation aims to educate Nigerians and provide emotional and financial assistance to parents navigating similar challenges.
“We know the stress it takes. We want to use our story to encourage others. You are not alone”, they said.
The couple expressed deep gratitude to MC Mbakara’s mother, who has been a pillar of support in caring for Eke Mama. “If not for her, we would have been drained,” MC Mbakara said. “We thank God every day for her and for our daughter’s life.”
