From Petrus Obi, Enugu
Little master Emmanuel Chizuoke Divine has been in pains since he was born on October 24, 2013.
He was born with a faulty bladder which makes urine flow uncontrollably.
He has undergone three surgeries and still requires two more to get the whole thing corrected.
Cuddling his sick child, the young father, Emmanuel Joseph, an unemployed graduate, who took to farming, lamented on his poor financial disposition.
The man who hails from Nkerefi, Nkanu East, Enugu State recalled that his son was born four years ago.
He was born with a defect. At first we didn’t know what was wrong with him until it was diagnosed at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, UNTH. It was explained that his bladder was open and urine flows uncontrollably. It was diagnosed as bladder extrophy. The doctors said before it could be corrected it must go through series of surgery.
He was also born with hernia attached to it. When he was a month old, he went for the first surgery, but after sometimes, as the child was about to be discharged, the surgery started collapsing. They told us that there was that tendency for the surgery to break.
A year and a half later, the boy started crying, the hernia was so cronic. He was in severe pain and was always crying so we had no choice than to take him to hospital where the hernia was removed through another surgery.
It’s been very difficult for us since then and we have been going round for assistance. We were able to raise some money to be able to go for the third surgery from which we just came out.
Fortunately for us the surgery has been successful; the bladder has been able to close but the urine still flows without control. Doctors say he still requires about two different surgeries for the defect to be corrected.
Personally, I have no money, the piggery business I am doing has flopped, and nobody to run to so I decided to come to the media to appeal to well-meaning individuals, philanthropists, government to come to our aid.
“About N2.1 million is required for the remaining surgery which will be handled by the University of NigeriaTeaching Hospital,” he said.