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• Seeks N70m for eye cancer surgery
By Chukwudi Nweje
When Obinna Francis and Emmanuella Imaobong Chikeluba got married in 2015, they both nurtured the dream of living the fairytale “happily ever after.”
•Obinna Chikeluba and his wife, Emmanuella
But nine years down the line, the dream is being shattered by an ailment that’s eating away the life of Obinna, an indigene of Aguluzigbo town in Anoicha Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Both Emmanuella and Obinna were living a good life until 2021 when Obinna’s life took a wrong turn. Incidentally, the same time, Obinna then aged 39, was looking forward to starting a new phase in his life, turning 40 was a big milestone. After all, it is said that “life begins at 40.”
But suddenly, Obinna started experiencing some itching in his right eye, which he, his wife and their close friends thought were early symptoms of conjunctivitis otherwise known as Apollo.
According to Emmanuella, they visited various hospitals treating the itchy eye but the itching defied all medication for the treatment of Apollo. The eye got worse until 2022 when the couple visited the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), and a CT scan conducted gave them the rudest shock of their lives. The result of the scan revealed that Obinna had a more serious ailment than Apollo – he had eye cancer!
The news was devastating to Obinna, who looked forward to beginning a new life at 40, but was rather knocked down by life.
The CT scan report reads in part: “There is a large heterogeneously enhancing soft tissue mass measuring about 66 x 63mm in his right orbit with associated marked proptosis. Multiple foci of calcification are seen within it. The globe is shrunken with an irregular outline and is not seen separate from the mass. The other intraconal structures are also not separate from the mass.”
Against all odds, Obinna’s main pillar of support, Emmanuella, remains faithful to the marriage vows to her husband “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”
However, the couple have been stretched to the limit, they have exhausted their life savings. Obinna’s thriving business as an electrical/electronic merchant has crumbled due to his prolonged illness, and they had to sell their assets to pay for treatment.
What’s more, Emmanuella’s stationery/business centre that sustained them since Obinna fell sick has also borne the brunt and hardly caters to the day-to-day needs of the family, not to talk of medication for Obinna.
Down and out, Emmanuella is now appealing to well-meaning Nigerians and corporate organisations to help her raise the sum of N70 million for Obinna’s chemotherapy and brain surgery at LASUTH, and time is of the essence.
Going by the report from the medical personnel at LASUTH, early treatment is necessary to prevent the cancerous cells spreading to the other eye, even as the affected eye could still be salvaged by early treatment and surgery.
Anyone who is willing to help can reach out to Obinna and Emnanuella on: 09042411516/08139732408 or through WhatsApp +234 905 9170107.
