David Sopuruchi Chibuzo is not a happy teen. He dreams of being not just a pastor, but an evangelist who would traverse the world, breaking strongholds and converting souls. But, he risks not fulfilling his dreams.
David has cerebral palsy (CP). A fall during seizure has left him with a dislocated hip and shattered bones. Thus, he needs N5 million for brain and hips surgery at Vikian Specialist Hospital in India.
CP is a disorder that affects muscle tone, movement and motor skills. It is caused by brain damage that occurs before or during a child’s birth, or during the first three to five years of a child’s life. According to studies, about 50 per cent of children with CP have seizures, where abnormal nerve activity disturbs the functioning of the brain.
David’s ordeal started in 1999, when he was just nine months old. He and his two siblings were diagnosed of cerebral malaria, but David’s case proved more severe. He was in coma for eight days after which he was resuscitated but at that point things had gone awry; he had lost his memory and since then, living has been a struggle for him.
At 17, David cannot live a normal life like his peers; he still lives like a baby under age one – usually aided to do his activities. He is unable to perform a simple function as helping himself to the restroom and it pains him that as a teenager, he still depends on his parents and siblings to help him with all activities of life.
Every little opportunity he gets, he tells you of his dream of being a pastor, how his present predicament is standing in the way and how he wished he could be well and save his family of their suffering. And everywhere you find him; there is always his Bible by his side. Although unable to pronounce most of the words, he still clings to it.
Recounting how it happened, his mother, Mrs. Christy Chibuzo said: “David was born hale and hearty on August 7, 1998. As at nine months, he had started to hold things to stand and move about the house like every normal baby. But one Monday in May 1999, his two older siblings took ill and were admitted at Oredugba Specialist Hospital, Ikate, Surulere, Lagos and were later diagnosed to have cerebral malaria. That day, he was healthy and presented no signs of any illness. But on Tuesday, the doctor in charge called me and said he wanted to place him on malaria treatment because he wouldn’t like what happened to his brothers to happen to him. I obliged and they started giving him injections. It was like that night, the injections brought out all the temperature; if you put wet towel on him, it would dry. So that Wednesday morning, I reported our last night’s experience to the doctor and he said he was going to change his drugs. I agreed and told them that I will come for the drugs after the other two might have been admitted in Havannah Specialist Hospital – a hospital recommended by one of our sisters in church when no impressive improvement was seen in their health.
“On the way, I discovered he was having the same experience his brothers had. By the time we got to Havannah, he couldn’t breathe again; so they took him directly to the theatre and placed him on oxygen and we started praying and after a while, he regained consciousness and they placed him on observation. After two days on oxygen, he started convulsing hard. The drip stopped going, but after 45 minutes, God stopped the convulsion. However, after sometime, he entered into final coma that lasted for eight days. It was just by the grace of God that he survived.
“They even brought surgeons from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), who took samples from his brain and spinal cord to check if it was meningitis,. They did all sorts of tests after which they concluded it was CP. At a point, they put drip through his nose from where they fed him. He was not responding to anything apart from needle at the sole of his feet which kept our hopes high that he was alive.
“Having regained consciousness, they started giving him treatment. At a point, he started desiring breast; they said I should give him; they started putting syrup and light pap with raw egg from the pipe. Gradually, he kept responding and so on the 16th day, they discharged us but at that time, he had lost every memory. He couldn’t even recognise anyone; he was just like a log of wood. We took him home and we were going from home to the hospital, and after sometime, we started going from LUTH, to Havannah and numerous other hospitals that were recommended. That has been the journey so far,” she said.
At age one, Mr and Mrs Chibuzo Onuegbe registered their child at the Children Development Centre (CDC), Surulere, Lagos. There he was taught motor skills and a host of other things but today, David is out of school as a result of the dwindling resources of his parents.
David’s father, Pastor Chibuzo Onuegbe, is a pastor with the Assemblies of God Church, whose income depends on what the church pays; and managing CP is not any easy task for an average income family. Thus, the illness has ended up leaving the family’s purse dry.
Aside from his inability to help himself with anything, David’s case is worsened by recurring convulsions, a symptom associated with CP patients. Each time this happens, the family spends days or even weeks in the hospital, depending on the severity of the attack. Aside the money spent in hospitals, the recurring pains he goes through is pathetic. Sometimes when it happens while alone with his siblings, or mother, all they will do is to watch him groan in pains or left at the mercy of mature male neighbours to help lift him into a car so they could rush him to the hospital. All these things the family has been shouldering. Though burdensome, what would they do? Stay and watch him groan and die in pain?
“The journey has not been an easy one but God has been gracious. We were told that once a week physiotherapy in LUTH will not solve the problem. So, we had to engage a physiotherapist that came thrice a week and worked on him for seven years. With the help of the massage, David started learning to hold his neck. We started to teach him how to sit down by putting him in a carton and guarding it with clothes and pillows; we taught him sounds – how to open his hands. Today, his hands are good only that they are a bit weak but he can grip biro and spoon. At a point, he started rolling and they told us it was still part of movement. Then, he started sitting, moving with his buttocks and even attempted to stand by grabbing things,” explained Mrs. Chibuzo.
While the parents were excited about his improvement, another tragedy struck. David at 15 had a fall while playing with his siblings and this changed the course of the improvement. At first, he showed no sign of injury or pain, but after two weeks, he started screaming with pains and when taken to a General Hospital in Lagos, he was checked and certified okay, but unknown to his parents, his right hip was dislocated. He kept screaming with pains in the right leg, which in time started to get thinner and shorter than the other.
The family ever since then has been praying and getting help wherever they could, but the leg situation seems not to be improving. They were advised to go for x-ray, and the result showed that he had a dislocated hip and some broken pieces of bones. Since then, this young lad had been in severe pain.
At a General Hospital in Lagos, he was given a caliper which was sooner discarded because rather than help improve the situation, it caused bruises. They were then referred to the National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi. From Igbobi, they went to a hospital at one of the Army cantonments in Lagos. There, the doctor said they could not handle such a situation and referred them back to Igbobi.
It was at Igbobi that they got the highest discouragement ever. They met a surgeon who said he could carry out the surgery for a million naira, but said he had a 50/50 survival chance and his parents agreed. When they came back at the next appointment day, he chased them out “like dogs”, asking if they could not see that the leg was irredeemable.
However, a little ray of light came their way when one of their members, who went to India for heart-related surgery, took the x-ray with him. There a team of experts examined it and assured that they could correct the problem. They had also consulted other hospitals, but have settled for Vikian because of their known records in surgery success.
According to medical analysis done by the Indian doctors, David has got a good chance of recovery. The brain surgery will work to completely eradicate the seizure attacks, leaving it with greater chance of correcting all the imbalances caused by the attacks, while with the hip surgery, David might be able to walk with time. But in all, the severe pains this young lad is feeling will be completely gone.
With respect to this hope, the Onuegbes are passionately appealing to whomever the story of David has touched to come to their aid in their quest to save the life of their son.
“This issue has drained our resources and also put us in debt, yet we cannot afford to keep watching him groan in pains. He has been recommended for multiple surgeries abroad, which is estimated at N5 million and my family cannot afford it. We are therefore, passionately pleading with all whose heart God will touch after going through the agonies of our boy to please assist us with whatever amount God has laid in your good hearts to support us with the surgical operations,” appealed Mrs. Chibuzo who fought to hold back tears.
Should you want to support David in his battle for survival, you may render your support through this bank account: Onuegbe Chibuzor N. Account No: 2018357079; First Bank of Nig. Plc. Or call any of these mobile numbers: 08033284171, 08035137845 or 08085853139.
