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Gilbert Ekezie
Kehinde Yusuf was born along with his twin brother, Taiwo, on September 17, 2009. But while Taiwo is in Basic 5, Kehinde is yet to start school due to his health challenges. The nine-year–old boy is presently being managed at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. Medical doctors call it a case of quadriparesis due to hydrocephalus.
The boy was taken to UCH on June 15, 2011, and the first surgery, ETB, was done on his head, followed by post-surgery treatment. Later, he was asked to do another test, which was done and the result showed that the ETB was blocked. Therefore, he was recommended for yet another test called shunt, which was done on the right side of his neck. Fortunately, after the test, it was found out that the head, which used to increase in size stopped swelling and his fingers, which were like that of a little baby, started growing like a normal child. Also, as he was going through all these, he could not talk or eat but, after the shunt surgery, he began to do all those things. But he still cannot sit, crawl or walk now. And he will be 10 on September 19. He needs about N1.2 million to get rehabilitated.
According to the deputy director, Physiotherapy, UCH, Ibadan, Dr. A.A. Atowaju, Kehinde’s appointment at the hospital is weekly. He will also require assistive devices/treatment aids like corner seat, (CP chair), lower limb extensor splints and sand bag (0.5kg) in the course of his rehabilitation.
Also, in addition, he may require surgical intervention (tenotomy) during the course of rehabilitation, which will be done in another department of the hospital. That has been scheduled for Friday, April 5.
Kehinde’s father, Mr. Isiaka Adewale Yusuf, explained that the problem started when malaria struck the boy at six months and he was taken to the General Hospital, Ado Awaye in Iseyin, Oyo State, for treatment. There, the doctor that attended to him was quoted to have said that he could not find the child’s veins to administer the drip, so, he passed it through the head. Unfortunately, a week after he was discharged from the hospital, his head started to grow bigger than the body. As a result, he could no longer sit because his body could not carry the weight of the head.
According to the dad, Kehinde was taken back to the hospital to meet the doctor that treated him but the doctor did not attend to him due to the strike in the hospital. However, he advised that the baby should be given multi-vitamin syrup, which did not work.
“After consuming about 30 bottles of the syrup, there was no positive change in Kehinde’s problem and when we met the doctor again, he insisted that there was nothing he could do. He abandoned us to our fate after his careless and reckless medical practice. So, we became helpless at a certain point, and later decided to take him to a private hospital at Iseyin, since the public hospital was on strike. In fact, we went to about 10 different private hospitals and there was no solution until when we got to the last one where they told us that Kehinde’s problem could not be handled at any private hospital around. So, they referred us to the UCH, Ibadan.”
Meanwhile, the surgeries so far, and weekly trips from Lagos to UCH for post-surgery analysis and tests have cost the family a huge amount of money. At a point, there was no money to continue the struggle to save the life of the innocent boy. That, therefore, made Yusuf to sell his car, television and other property. Also, his mother, Mrs. Rashidat Yusuf, an auxiliary nurse, has stopped working in order to take good care of him at home because he also has seizures.
At the moment, the family cannot afford the N1.2 million needed for the surgery as well as the assistive devices/treatment aids and other expenses.
They have, therefore, appealed to corporate organisations, religious bodies, non-governmental organisations, groups and individuals to come to their aid so that Kehinde might be on his feet after the surgery.
“We were told at UCH that, after the whole thing, my son will start to walk and do other things as a normal person,” Yusuf said.
Kehinde can be reached through his father, Isiaka Adewale Yusuf, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Account Number: 2065983593. The father can also be reached on 08022300344.
