By Doris Obinna

It was a joyous moment for the parents of Samuel Nzubechukwu Okafor as they welcomed their first child into the world. However, that joy was cut short for Mr. and Mrs. Ifeanyi Okafor a few weeks later. They discovered that their son’s breathing pattern was different and far from normal. After many tests and scans, it was discovered that Samuel had a hole in the heart and would need surgery. To stay alive, three-month-old Samuel needs urgent surgery in India that would cost N8 million.

Speaking to the reporter, his distraught father said Samuel was born November 10, 2022 at a private hospital. He said, a few hours after his son’s birth, while in the mother’s arms at the hospital, he noticed the way he was breathing.

In a telephone interview, Okafor said: “I complained to the nurse but, instead of checking him, the nurse told me nothing was wrong with my son and that it was normal with newborn babies. So, we took it in good faith, since he was just a few hours old. 

“A few days after we were discharged, we discovered that his breathing still wasn’t normal. He was always short of breath. He would breathe normally for some time and other times he would be struggling to catch a breath.

“I made a call to the doctor and complained. He told me that my son may have been infected with a cold and asked us to bring him to the hospital. He was taken back to the hospital and within this period after, he received treatment, his struggle to breathe reduced, so we were discharged after spending one week.

“On December 8, 2022, it became worse and it was obvious that it was more than cold and that something is actually wrong. The abnormality with his breathing persisted and we took him back to the hospital. 

“A paediatrician, Dr. Emeka Arinze, attended to him but, while in the process, he said he suspected a hole in the heart and suggested for us to go for an echo scan to be doubly sure, which I agreed to before I left that day.

“He is our first child and we waited for years before we conceived him. During one of the days at home, while still in a state of confusion and disbelief, we noticed him on the bed where he laid that he was going out of breath and before we knew what was happening, he passed out. 

“Luckily, I was at home and rushed him to the health centre close to our home at Badagry and was told he had given up and that there was nothing they could do.

“I refused to heed their report and told them my son would not die. I called the doctor who asked that I bring him. From there, I took motorcycle to the hospital and immediately I got there, they rushed him to emergency and tried to revive him. My wife came to join me at the hospital and after some hours, with prayers, he was revived.

“On January 5, this year, his sickness relapsed. This time, he was rushed to the general hospital at Alaba-rago. And for one week that he was on admission, he was placed on oxygen. They got tired of treating him and discharged him.

“The consultant attending to him advised us to go for an echo scan and with a letter of referral, referred us to Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba.”

The distressed father explained that his son was taken to LUTH in an ambulance because he was on oxygen. According to him, when the scan and other tests were finally done and results came out, it was discovered that Samuel had a hole in the heart and needed surgery.

“We were told that, as a result of the hole, the heart had also been infected, which was the reason for his frequent heart failure. He was admitted for another three weeks because of the infection, which needed to be treated without further delay.

“After treating the infection, we were asked to go and raise N8 million for the surgery and that his chance of survival was 20 per cent. I don’t know where to start. I am a plumber and my wife is a seamstress. We have exhausted ourselves going from one hospital to another. I don’t want him to die because we suffered before we conceived him.

“My son was three months old on February 10 and he is already going through so much pain and has been on one medication or the other. I don’t wish this on even my enemy. Within these three months, he has been brought back to life twice. I don’t want him to die,” Okafor said.

A letter dated January 24, 2023, signed by his consultant paediatrician, Dr. Ogochukwu Sokunbi, Department of Paediatrics, LUTH, that showed the summary of the medical report for Samuel Okafor, revealed the clinical evaluation, which indicated that he had symptomatic congenital heart disease.

The letter read: “This was confirmed by echocardiography to be transposition of great arteries with large size inlet ventricular septal defect with anterior muscular extension shunting bi-directionally, left ventricular outflow tract muscle bundle, no stenosis, biaterial dilatation, biventricular dilatation and good biventricular function.

“Samuel will require further cardiovascular evaluation and possible open-heart surgery to correct his heart defect in order to forestall irreversible and life-threatening complications.

“This letter, therefore, serves as an introduction of the patient for any assistance that will facilitate surgical intervention at a centre with facilities for cardiac surgery.”

Okafor stated that Samuel was referred to India for the surgery. “Upon the referral, I made contact with the hospital in India, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Okhla. They have agreed to treat my son.

“The doctor assigned to Samuel’s surgery is Dr. K.S. lyer, executive director, paediatric congenital heart surgery. All that is left is money to fly him to India.”

Okafor pleaded with Nigerians to assist in Samuel’s surgery. He can be contacted on: 08038529818, while donations should be made to: account number 1619502016, FCMB, Okafor Ifeanyi S.