Tag: heart surgery

Eighteen-month-old Oluwatofunmi Bello is living with a hole in the heart. He needs N2.8 million to have a corrective surgery in India. But his parents cannot afford the fee. What becomes of him? WALE ADEPOJU reports

At a very tender age, little Oluwatofunmi Bello is shouldering a big problem. He has a hole in the heart and he is only 18 months old. Because of this ailment he cannot do what many of his peers do. He cannot run around like them; he cannot engage in physical activities. To save him from this life-threatening ailment, he needs N2.8million for a corrective surgery in India.

His mother, Mrs Modinat Bello, said she noticed the symptoms in her son last September when he fell ill after a bout of convulsion.

She said: “Oluwatofunmi was always opening his mouth from birth as if gasping for breath. He could hardly suck breast too and sometimes breathing through the mouth.

“That was in September last year, when my son was taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, where cardiologists said he has congenital heart disease (double outlet right ventricle with pulmonary stenosis).”

She said it was a Consultant Paediatric/ Paediatric Cardiologist, Dr Barakat Animasahun, who recommended that Oluwatofunmi be taken to India for surgical intervention.

Mrs Bello, who is a petty trader, said her son has been a patient at the Paediatric Cardiology Unit of LASUTH since then. “His hospital registration number is N0257149. I have to take him to the hospital once or twice in two weeks or any time he has convulsion,” she said.

Mrs Bello said she is a single mother of three, with no resources to care for them, adding: “His father, Mr Wale Bello, who is a spare parts dealer at Jankara Market, Ijaiye, an outskirt of Lagos, has not been supportive in any way to the child. I have been shouldering the burden all alone.”

Mrs Bello is appealing to the government, companies and well-meaning individuals to help her dying child get over the health condition.

An account has been opened with First Bank: Modinat Bello: 2022616133, for financical assistance.

Little Oluyisola Deborah Moyinoluwa cannot play like her mates. She can’t walk for long also because she was born with a hole-in-her-heart.

Cardiologists described her condition as congenital heart disease (tetralogy of fallot).

At five years old, it appears her life has come to a standstill because she can’t play around or do things children of her age do.

She’s always tired and breathes heavily. This makes her to always stay alone.

Her mother, Ms Adedoyin Sangobowale said she found out her daughter had the condition when she was about four years old but couldn’t do anything as she doesn’t have the money to pay for the cost of treatment.

She said: “I got to find out something was wrong when I noticed she was not growing although the doctors said it was from birth. This was when she was about four years old. And I took her to the General Hospital Orile Agege, an outskirt of Lagos, where I was actually told what was wrong with her. She was referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), lkeja, where she has been receiving treatment.

The cardiologist, Dr Barakat Animashaun told me she should to go India for surgery. But when we sought how much it would cost, we were told it’s N2 million.

As a single mother, this is too much for me to bear. I could hardly take care of myself let alone a sick child. How do I do it? This was why I have been running from pillar to post, seeking for help.

“My daughter has not been doing badly but due to her sickness she gets tired easily and most of the time can’t walk for too long. This means I have carry her or back her if I have to go out with her but presently I am not working and fending for the two of us has been so difficult,” she added.

The girl’s father, Adeoye Oluyisola, an electrician, who resides at Mushin area of Lagos, has never been there for her since her birth, making the mother the only person providing for the child.

Ms Sangowale is appealing to well-meaning people, organisation and government to come to the aid of her daughter. A First Bank Plc account with the name: Oluyisola Deborah Moyinoluwa: 3068890329, had been opened.