Job Osazuwa
A 37-year-old man, Daniel Emori, who hails from Adadama community in Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State, has been down with spinal cord injury for 16 years.
Speaking with Daily Sun, he lamented that he has been incapacitated since the day he was involved in an accident that turned his life upside down. His health was deteriorating daily, and now he has raised the alarm that, if nothing is done as soon as possible, he might die.
“At the moment, I am lying on urine due to urethra challenge that I am presently having that requires an urgent medical intervention. My life is at stake,” he said.
He explained that his woes were further compounded by the loss of his father three years after the crash. According to him, his survival up till date is mainly due to help from his aged mother, who has stood by him all along. He said that affording three-square meals a day has become a major challenge for him.
Recollecting how the accident happened, he said that it was after he wrote the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in his state that he travelled to Onitsha, Anambra State, in search of greener pastures.
“In Onitsha, I was first employed by a plastic company as a machine operator, where I worked for two years. While I was there, l was able save some money that enabled me to enrol in a driving training school. After I passed the driving training tests, I started working as a driver in different companies in Onitsha. I was later employed by one of the major pharmaceutical companies in the state to be driving a delivery van,” he said.
He said that on the day of the crash, October 10, 2003, he was on his usual official duty distributing goods to his company’s customers when he collided with an uncontrolled cow within Fegge Market near the Niger Bridge.
Said he: “I was immediately rushed to a nearby clinic and, the following day, l was referred to the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu State, where some medical tests, including scan and x-ray, were carried out on me. The doctors confirmed that I sustained a spinal cord injury, which has paralysed me till date.
“After all efforts to pay the required amount for immediate surgery failed, I was discharged.
“In the year 2015, I had the opportunity to consult Saket-City Hospital in India. And after the hospital went through my medical report and history, the doctors there gave me hope of a better recovery.
“The breakdown of what would be spent on me was estimated to cost $44,250 US, which is about N16 million.”
He said that his family could not raise such amount needed for the operation. He lamented that they have been borrowing money from different people to keep him alive.
“That is why I am pleading to well-meaning Nigerians, philanthropists, non-governmental organisations, my state government and the Federal Government and the entire public for financial assistance.
“As a result of consistent lying down on my sick bed, both my hip and knee joints are stiff, as I could not afford the cost of physiotherapy. I need urgent intervention. Infection and bedsore have eaten deeply into my system due to lack of medication. Even the urethra challenge I am having right now was as a result of infection.
“Whoever God touches to be of help to me can easily reach me on phone. My phone number is 07031655209. My UBA account number is 2072008766, and the account name is Daniel Emori.”