It was moments of joy for more than 90 low-income earners who benefitted from a free surgery scheme initiated by Liberty Life Hospital in Ogudu, Lagos. The beneficiaries had free medical operations to heal ailments that included fibroid, hernia, hydroceles and breast lumps.
Each time Mrs. Yemisi Ajibola heard of the word “infertility”, she would cringe in sadness and self-pity. Reason: infertility had robbed her of the joy of marriage for nine years. The 40-yearl-old civil servant got married to her husband when she was 31, but since then, she never had the source of every woman’s joy after marriage, which is the fruit of the womb.
The cause of her infertility remained unknown to her until 2010, two years after her marriage, when she was diagnosed of multiple uterine fibroid. Then, she got clear picture of what had prevented her from getting pregnant.
Removing the fibroid cells from her uterus, doctors told her, required surgical operation; but, this could not be done because of her high sugar level. She resorted to the use of herbal concoction to get the unwanted tissues out of her body system.
In the past seven years, Mrs Ajibola and her husband had spent N1 million on herbal remedies without any solution. She resigned to fate, hoping that, one day, God would heal her of the embarrassing tumors.
She said: “When I discovered I could not take in, I went to a hospital for a test. There, I was diagnosed of multiple fibroid cells in my uterus. I was told the fibroid cells could not be removed by operation because of high sugar level in my blood. Then, my husband and I started spending money to get the fibroid removed through herbal remedy.
“We got a lot of advice from people. We moved from one herbal medical centre to another. We were assured that I would excrete the fibroid out my system. During that period, I drank a lot of concoctions prepared by different herbal healers. None of the substances worked. I gave up on the fibroid and resorted to prayers.”
Like Mrs Ajibola, Mr Olamide Olaniji, a taxi driver, had spent his life savings in seeking cure for hernia through herbal remedies. For more than five years, the 53-year-old indigene of Ondo State had lived with the stigma of hernia–a disease that enlarged his scrotum sack to a ball-shape organ.
When his scrotum started to enlarge beyond normal, Olaniji read spiritual meaning to the development, believing that he was inflicted with the embarrassing ailment by an old woman whom he had a disagreement with. In seeking solution, he moved from one native doctor’s house to another. In the process, he sold all his property, yet the hernia kept growing.
It was all joy for both Mrs Ajibola and Olaniji, penultimate week, after they were healed of ailments that had brought them indescribable shame for many years. Both were among the beneficiaries of a free surgery scheme organised for low-income people by Liberty Life Hospital in Ogudu Road, Ojota, Lagos.
The scheme was initiated against the backdrop of high cost of medical surgeries and health care service in the country. It was targeted at indigent families in rural areas that did not have access to quality health care because they could not afford to pay exorbitant cost of medical operations in private and government hospitals.
Since the scheme began in September, no fewer than 90 beneficiaries from different parts of the country have undergone medical surgeries for various ailments that included fibroid, hernia, breast lump, hydrocele and lipoma, among others.
Beneficiaries booked appointment with the medical team of the Liberty Life Hospital that carried out the free surgeries. They were only required to pay highly subsidised cost for medical service, such as medications, blood test and X-ray scan, which were not included in the scheme.
32 uterine fibroids exorcised
Having spent N1 million on inefficacious herbal concoctions, Mrs Ajibola turned to God for miracle. She was on a hill for prayers when she got a WhatsApp message from her friend, informing her of the free health scheme.
“I had thought they were fraudsters, but the friend who sent the message pleaded with me to check out the scheme before making conclusion,” she said.
Reluctant, Mrs Ajibola delayed her visit to the hospital because of lack of faith in the system occasioned by her experience with herbal products. Just when the scheme was about to end, she visited the hospital to find out what was going on.
She said: “At the hospital, I got more information about the scheme. When I explained my predicament to the doctors, I was told it was medically possible to remove the fibroids. I was asked to choose the date I would come for the surgery. I chose December 7.
“On that day, I remember I walked into the operating theatre for the surgery. I woke up a few hours after and I discovered 32 fibroid cells of different sizes were removed from my uterus. It was like a dream, because I never believed I was carrying this number of fibroid cells in my body.”
The surgery ended her seven years of agony. In a testimony, Mrs Ajibola said the uterine fibroid had brought pain for her.
She said: “Each time I had an intercourse with my husband, the semen would come down immediately. I dared not wear a tight dress. My tummy was bigger than the tummy of a woman pregnant with twins. I used to have a heavy menstrual flow, and each time I menstruated, I would be in pain throughout the period. I would not go to work, because of pain and heavy flow. My husband would be mopping the floor to clean the blood.”
Since the operation, Mrs Ajibola’s body size has reduced. She said she was overwhelmed with joy since she was healed.
“What I expect next is pregnancy,” she said.
Five-year hernia healed
His spiritual interpretation to the sudden enlargement of his scrotum made Olaniji, a father of five, to seek spiritual solution to the ailment. In the end, various herbalists he visited could not heal him of hernia; rather, Olaniji sold valuable properties to seek spiritual therapy that did not engender any cure.
Unknown to him, his ailment only required pain-free medical surgery by doctors that will clear the mass of tissue that disfigured his genitals.
In the process of seeking spiritual solution, Olaniji said: “A herbalist collected N9,000 from me weekly and gave me a 4-litre herbal concoctions to use every week. When I didn’t see any change after about two months, I stopped going to the herbalist. Another herbalist in Ibadan told me to carry a sacrifice naked. I sold valuable property all to no avail.”
Olaniji learnt about the health care scheme from a passenger whom he took to Ogudu. In disbelief, he visited the Liberty Life Hospital and explained his predicament to the medical team. With just N25,000, Olaniji underwent hernia surgery at the hospital and also qualified for post-surgery check-up.
He said: “I never believed I could be cured of this discomforting ailment. I had already lost hope. It was when I got to the Liberty Life Hospital that I knew I had been chasing shadows by engaging in fetish things in seeking solution to my problem. I am grateful to God and the management of the hospital.”
Ayomide Cole, a 19-year-old student of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), was part of the beneficiaries of the scheme. She suffered Benign Tumor, a non-cancerous lump, which resulted in abnormal enlargement of her breast.
She said: “I was confused when I noticed the lump in my breast. I had thought it was cancer, but when I went for medical examination, the result showed it was not cancerous. But, I could not afford the cost of medical operation to get the lump removed from my breast. A private hospital demanded N400,000, an amount I couldn’t afford. I heard about the free lump removal surgery from my mother’s friend who was operated upon for fibroid.”
When she showed up during the health care scheme at the Liberty Life Hospital, Ayomide got the tumor removed from her breast through a surgery that could have cost her N400,000. But, she was treated free.
Basis for the scheme
The Chief Medical Director of Liberty Life Hospital, Dr. Benjamin Olowojebutu, said the scheme was targeted at helping the indigent and low-income earners have access to quality and affordable health care.
“The surgeries are done free, but the beneficiaries only paid a token for drugs, medical tests and consumables,” he said.
Continuing, he said: “My partners and I began the health care programme because we discovered that a lot of men don’t go to hospitals. Only women regularly go to hospitals for check-ups. It was our aim to get men to come to hospital. Many indigent people have a lot of diseases they are carrying about, which they cannot seek help because of high cost of surgeries.
“Many people don’t have enough information about their medical conditions; others could not afford to pay for surgeries to heal themselves of simple ailments. We believe everybody, irrespective of social status, deserves quality and affordable health care. This is the mission of our hospital in creating the scheme. We want to create a truly community-based hospital where the poor can access affordable health care services.”
Several patients had benefitted since the scheme was announced through the social media and handbills. The patients, who came from different parts of the country, visited the hospital with long histories of fibroid, hernia, hydroceles and lipoma.
Affordable cost of treatment
The minimum a patient can pay for a fibroid surgery in a private hospital in Lagos ranges between N500,000 and N800,000, depending on the size of the surgery. But, fibroid patients got it done at the Liberty Life Hospital during the scheme with a few thousands meant for blood test, consumables and medications.
The patient did not pay for the surgery and anesthesia used in the operation. Since cost of treatment was highly subsidised, Dr. Olowojebutu said the hospital set a limit to the number of surgeries done weekly.
The last batch of beneficiaries will have their surgeries for hernia, fibroid and breast lump before December 31. Dr. Olowojebutu said the hospital had the aim to end the year by putting smile on the faces of people who could not afford expensive health care service.
He said: “In our plan to reach out to more people, we have put this kind of scheme in our 2018 itinerary because of the feedbacks we received. We have set out to organise free health care scheme in every quarter of next year to give back to the society. We believe we have to keep helping the poor get access to quality health care. For people who cannot afford to pay for the expensive health care service, we are here to support them.”
Free post-surgery care
Managing the patients after surgery, Dr. Olowojebutu said, is key to achieving total healing. He said the beneficiaries were mandated to visit the hospital regularly for free post-surgery check-ups. Some of them, he added, have registered with the hospital for routine check-up.
Dr. Olowojebutu said: “This is a testimony to our quality service. I believe that if you do things right, people will appreciate it by coming back and even inviting others. Some of the beneficiaries keep referring people to us. They are the ones sharing the gospel. After the surgery, most of them voluntarily become our patients. We follow them properly until they are totally healed. Those who have their personal doctors were referred back to their doctors.”
Erasing the myth
Most of the patients treated for fibroid had used herbal concoctions in the hope that the tumor would be excreted. A beneficiary, who identified herself as Mrs Josephine, explained how a herbalist told her she needed not to go for fibroid operation. She was assured that a herbal mixture would dry up her fibroid.
“That is a lie,” Dr. Olowojebutu said, adding: “Some herbal doctors keep deceiving people on the efficacy of herbal concoction in curing fibroid.”
He said: “People must know that anything in the womb will always grow, whether it is a baby or fibroid; except it is taken away. If there is a fibroid in the womb, except it is taken away, it will always grow. So, all these stories that herbal substances can cure fibroid are totally false. It is a wrong myth.”
