Fate is partial and cruel. While it smiles to others irrespective of their wicked ways, it chooses to be cruel to some innocent people without any explanation.
What could a six-month old baby, David Ikheloa have done wrong to deserve the unkind treatment that fate has meted to him?
As harmless as little David is, he is forced to cope with the excruciating pain occasioned by two deep holes in his heart. When Mrs. Titilayo Ikheloa was delivered of the baby six months ago, she was grateful to Almighty God for save delivery after nine months of pregnancy.
But, her joy was punctuated on 10th July, 2013 when her baby was diagnosed of large VSD with pulmonary hypertension at the University College Hospital, Ibadan. Since then, she has been running from pillar to post to find medical solution to the problem.
According to her, to get the problem solved, she needs N2,000,000 for possible surgery abroad. Unfortunately, as hairdresser, she is financially incapacitated to foot the bill. To compound her problem, her husband, who is a surveyor, has not been able to respond to this financial demand.
Having tried fruitlessly without any help, she sat down clutching her sick baby at an official launching of the UCH, Ibadan intervention cardiology programme.
It was her troubled looks that caught the attention of Vanguard Metro, VM. Her baby was a pity to behold. He looked emaciated with his two pale eyeballs moving to and fro in their sockets. The sickness in his heart has taken its toll on his growth.
Mrs. Ikheloa explained that her ordeal started the day her baby was diagnosed of the disease. She said what she noticed was that the heart of the little baby was beating faster than normal and he has stunted growth.
She pleaded earnestly with Vanguard Metro to help her appeal to Nigerians who still have the milk of human kindness in them to help her raise the money as she has spent all she had on the baby to keep him alive. If God lays it in your heart to help this innocent boy, the mother gave the details of her account number. First Bank, Gbagi. Her account name is Ikheloa Titilayo Shaki with account number 3058447087.
It is not only Baby David that is suffering this agony. According to the leader of the Tri-State Cardiovascular Associate, Delware, USA, Dr. Kamar Adeleke, 200 children in Oyo State are in dire need of open heart surgeries and Cardiac Catheterization procedure.
At the programme, the Chief Medical Director, UCH, Ibadan, Prof. Temitope Alonge hinted that about six open heart surgeries within the last seven months have been performed by the University College Hospital, Ibadan since the intervention cardiology program started in the teaching hospital.
Noting that 64 heart specialists came with him from USA to carry out the 14 successful heart surgeries, he said the team would also be glad to attend to all the 200 kids with heart cases.
According to Alonge, the hospital, in addition, had also conducted the first repair of Tetralogy of Fallot ToF and the first Coronary Artery Bye-Pass Grafting (CABG).He said, “We now have facilities for diagnosis and clinical treatment of heart diseases.
We are here to serve Nigeria populace and it is not easy to fund the health institution alone, that is why we are partnering with Tri-State Cardiovascular Associate, Delware, United States of America for manpower, JNCI and Babcock University in order to assist them in the running of their Cardiology Programme”.
To make health care delivery accessible to people, he noted further, “We are conducting our open heart surgery for a subsidized rate of N1.5 million as against that of N2.5 million in Ghana, so I do not think Nigerians need to travel abroad again for any operation in heart related diseases”
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