Joe Effiong, Uyo
For Patience Joseph Bassey of Ibiaku Uruan in Uruan LGA, Akwa Ibom State, life is actually beginning at 24. Before now, she was just existing, almost destitute.
She used to have pronounced bow legs, no thanks to her rickets-ravaged lower limbs, which deformed her from the knees down, making them look like brackets, thus making walking, which most people take for granted, a herculean task for her.
In medical parlance, her condition was known as gene-velum or bracket legs, which was marked by (outward) spreading at the knee, which meant the lower leg was angled outward in relation to the thigh’s axis, giving the limb overall the appearance of an archer’s bow.
An orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Francis Akpan, said gene-velum is caused by rickets (a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children) or any other ailment that prevents ossification of the bones or when a child is improperly fed at birth. And to get them corrected requires a lot of financial input, which people with very lean financial background cannot afford even if they were to save money for a lifetime.
That was why Patience had to bear the pains alone for 24 years and was gradually accepting the belief that that was her fate in life.
“It all started when I was just aged one, based on what my dad told me. He said he thought that, while growing up, it would eventually straighten out, but, sadly, it was never to be; rather, it became worse as the years went by,” Patience said. “When it became unbearable due to the severe pains I was enduring, I had to quit the cashier job I was doing at a pharmaceutical shop in Uyo and began to search for help, which eventually came when my neighbour, Mr. Patrick Titus, a journalist, informed me of Her Excellency Mrs. Martha Udom Emmanuel’s pet project known as Family Empowerment and Youth Re-orientation Path-Initiative (FEYReP). I didn’t waste time. I opted to write immediately for help from the governor’s wife.
“My neighbour informed me of what Her Excellency, Dr. Mrs. Martha Udom Emmanuel, has been doing through her pet project and encouraged me to seek help. I decided to apply and thereafter prayed to God to look into my letter. Few days later, I received a call from the confidential secretary of Her Excellency asking that I come over to the Government House. I was shocked but at the same time happy because I never really believed that I could be called upon.”
It was the most important telephone call she ever received it line; it was a call that would change her life, because, with that singular call, her misery had met its end.
Niger Delta Chronicle was told that Mrs. Emmanuel, upon reading her letter, instantly gave approval that she be taken to Our Lady of Health of the Sick Hospital, Ukana Iba, Essien Udim LGA, a popular facility noted for its orthopedic exploits.
Today, to the glory of God, Patience, having been successfully operated upon courtesy of the governor’s wife’s intervention, is learning to walk again but this time, without bow legs.
“I specially want to thank Her Excellency for reading and approving my letter. I was brought in here with all the financial bills paid for by her. The surgery was successful and, as you can see, I am already walking with the help of these crutches. Doctors said I have been responding well and that I should walk properly without any assistance in the next few months. I can’t thank Her Excellency enough for being a God-sent to me and pray that my God would bless and reward her love toward me,” she said.
Also registering his appreciation, Patience’s uncle, Dr. Emmanuel Essien, expressed gratitude to the State’s First Lady for coming to help his niece, saying it was rather too difficult to raise the huge amount that was required for the surgery.
“She has human feelings. I have been hearing and reading of her impact all these years but I never imagined that I would be a direct beneficiary. Now I am speechless! My prayer is that God would bless this administration and Her Excellency in particular,” Essien said.
Similarly, the administrator of the hospital, Rev. Sister Fidelia Zabbey, said Patience’s recovery process has been phenomenal. She also appreciated the Governor’s wife for footing the bills.
Sister Zabbey solicited more support from government and other good-spirited individuals to make the hospital a reference point in the country.