Father seeks help for 10-year-old son with stroke
A man, Okeke Chinedu, has appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to help raise funds for his 10-year-old son, William, who is suffering from a ventricular septic defect, also known as ‘hole in the heart.’
Chinedu, in an interview with PUNCH Metro on Thursday, said the ailment which was discovered when his son was a year old had resulted to a stroke causing his left hand to become feeble.
He said, “My son has a hole in the heart which eventually caused him a brain abscess. He has been in the hospital for five months. He started with the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital where he spent seven weeks, from August to September 2022, on IV injections treating the brain abscess. He had a stroke after the sixth week and he cannot walk again.
“We took him to Region Health Care, Stroke and NeuroScience Hospital at Mgbirichi, Owerri where he spent 14 days and finally to FMC Owerri where he spent another three months before he was revived and stabilised to an extent. The doctors, from the recent CT Scan, confirmed that the abscess has cleared but with multiple strokes in the brain and vision problem. He can see now and a resultant weak left hand which also requires surgery to remove observed dead bones.”
Chinedu said his doctors advised that the heart surgery be done urgently to avoid further complications and to save his life.
The surgery is expected to be carried out at Narayana Health City, Bangalore, India
He added, “I do not have the money to embark on this journey of my son’s heart surgery, the brain-vision complications treatment and the surgery on the left hand. I am appealing for financial support to take him to the recommended hospital in India. I do not want my son to die, please support me to save his life.
“He is currently on drugs that can sustain him for a while until the heart surgery and other surgeries are done. He has been on drugs all these while and who knows how long his body will be able to carry further drugs if there is no urgent intervention as has been prescribed by his doctors.”
He said the hospital he was referred to for surgery gave him an estimate of N7m.
Donations for William’s treatment can be sent directly to the patient’s bank account: 1001616334 Chinedu William, First City Monument Bank.
