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- Children driven out of school as widow cries for help over outstanding hospital bills
GYANG BERE, Jos
Life has become bitter and meaningless to Lydia Nannim, who lost her companion at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) after severe cough that led to the malfunction of mobile oxygen concentrator that was imported from Canada to sustain him from respiratory failure.
Long battle to live
Nannim, a 45-year-old primary school teacher, who was diagnosed of “complicated tuberculosis”, that resulted in respiratory failure, since June 17, 2016, has been on hospital bed with oxygen support machine attached to his nostrils in the past 19 months.
Lydia fought the biggest battle of her life to keep him alive but eventually lost the battle at the eleventh hour. She was unable to raise N1.9 million, the amount that will enable her import a mobile oxygen concentrator that can make him live outside the hospital.
A Good Samaritan and a medical doctor, who came to know about the pathetic condition of Nannim, travelled abroad and secured the mobile oxygen concentrator that brought relief and celebration once again into the family after living in agony and despondency for several months.
Immediately, the hospital tested the machine and was satisfied that Nannim can live life outside the hospital; he was discharged on December 23, 2017 and returned home with the mobile oxygen concentrator where he began a new life. He was able to move from one point to another with the support of the machine until Thursday 15 February, 2018 when there was a relapse after a severe cough at home.
Nannim was rushed back to Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and was quickly placed on oxygen support machine that had sustained him since June 17, 2016 but eventually, he died on the same day after several hours of battle by doctors to revive him.
Though, Lydia couldn’t raise the N1.9 million doctors said the husband needed for the oxygen machine, the big hole created in the pocket of the poor family by the complication is better imagined than experienced. Right now, the widow who is yet to recover from the mental trauma the sudden death of her husband inflicted on her, is running from pillar to pole, seeking N400, 000 to offset the outstanding medical bill that had swelled up during his 19 months stay in the hospital.
Mounting bills
Apart from that, her children have been sent out of school for lack of payment of school fees coupled with the fact that her house rent is about to expire. She is left in confusion. For 19 months, Nannim spent N3, 600 daily on treatment. While the accumulated hospital bill for the treatment was about N2 million, the charges for bedding and drugs cost about N800, 000.
“I don’t just know what to do now; I am confused though I thank God for sustaining me and the children. We were able to raise about N350, 000 for the mobile energy concentrator but when a doctor brought it for us free of charge, we diverted the money to reduce the medical bill. His friend who works in the hospital stood for us as a guarantor to enable them discharge us in December with the intention that we will look for the remaining money and settle the hospital. The outstanding bill is N400, 000 and we were still begging to bring down the bill to enable us pay before he was inflicted with cough that led to the relapse which claimed his life.” Lidya, a mother of three and breadwinner of the family can no longer feed the children and the hope of paying the outstanding medical bill now a mirage.
Abandoned by family
Nannim was the second child in a family of six. Except his younger sister who was said to have visited him at the hospital sometime in August 2016, none of his family members visited him or cared about his welfare until he died, leaving his wife in distress. His mother, Ladi Nimyel, died in 1999 and his father, Nimyel, in 2004. Before his death, doctors said based on empirical medical analysis, he might not live a month longer outside the hospital if not supported by the indispensable oxygen concentrator. They had warned that he would most likely experience an irreversible collapse of the lungs.
How it started
His predicament began in 1993 at Government College, Pankshin, when he lost his balance during school prep and forcefully hit his chest and lung on the edge
of a table. He experienced momentary sharp pains that ran through his system but after some hours the pains disappeared and saw no need to go for medical examination. Five years after, in 1998, another calamity struck Nannim at Federal College of Education Pankshin, while on his way home after an evening game. He had a nasty fall from a misstep and hit the same spot of his chest on the edge of a gutter.
Like in the previous fall, he experienced pains for some time but after taking some analgesics and injections, the pains began to gradually wear off. With time, he was alright or so he thought. But two years after in 2000, his lung conditions showed that contrary to his thought, he was anything but alright. His ribs began to ache so much that they led to frequent seizure of his breath. In fact, on one of the days, he was walking on the street when his breath totally ceased and he was rushed to JUTH. There, he was placed on admission for weeks.
After sometime, when there appeared to be no much improvement in his health condition he requested to be discharged. Thereafter, he moved to his village, Eugu, Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State, where he continued the medication through the aid of trado-medical treatment, using herbs.
He got some relief but for a swollen part of his ribs which refused to heal. Unknown to him, big health trouble was just incubating within those swollen ribs. Within this period, he managed to secure another teaching job at Founders International Academy, New Abuja, Dadin Kowa, Jos, Plateau State.
For some time, things seemed to be looking up until his situation degenerated one night on June 17, 2016. He could not simply breathe. It was in that condition he was rushed to JUTH and after careful examination, he was placed on oxygen support breathing machine, a journey from which he perished on February 15, 2018 in the hospital after using the oxygen machine at home for about one and half months.
Grateful heart
The widow who lives in Rantya Low Cost Housing Estate, behind COCIN RCC, has a lot to thank the owners and authorities of Founders International Academy where her husband was working for their decision to continue to place him on their pay roll in these past 19 months despite the fact that he was not coming to school or teaching.
Lydia, who works as a nanny with COCIN Private School, is devastated with the death of her husband coupled with her overwhelming financial challenges.
Since her husband was admitted at the hospital, she has divided her time between staying with him, her place of work and taking care of their three children: Nanman, six-year-old primary one pupil; Manya, eight-year-old primary three pupil and Samuel, a diploma undergraduate of Federal College of Education Pankshin. Married in 2007, Lydia said although she was aware of the recurring health challenges of her husband, she did not envisage that it could lead to his death.
Chief Medical Director of Jos University Teaching Hospital, Prof. Edmund Banwat, sympathized with the widow and said he will request for the late husband’s medical records for examination before taking a decision on the outstanding bill.
